John Thaw | |
|---|---|
 Thaw asInspector Morse | |
| Born | John Edward Thaw (1942-01-03)3 January 1942 Gorton,Manchester, England |
| Died | 21 February 2002(2002-02-21) (aged 60) Luckington,Wiltshire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1958–2001 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingAbigail Thaw |
John Edward ThawCBE (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor. He became best known for his television roles starring as Detective Inspector Jack Regan inThe Sweeney (1975–78) and asDetective Chief Inspector Morse inInspector Morse (1987–2000). He also worked on stage and in films.
For four consecutive years, Thaw was nominated for theBAFTA Award for Best Actor for playing Morse, winning in 1990 and 1993.[1] In 1988, he was nominated for theBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the filmCry Freedom. In 2001, he was awarded theBAFTA Fellowship.[2]
Born inGorton,Manchester, to John Edward ("Jack") Thaw, a tool-setter at theFairey Aviation Company aircraft factory, later a long-distance lorry driver, and Dorothy (née Ablott).[3] Dorothy left when he was seven years old. He and his younger brother, Raymond Stuart (Ray), had a difficult childhood due to their father's long absences. Thaw grew up in Gorton andBurnage, attending theDucie Technical High School for Boys, gaining just oneO Level. He entered theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) at the age of 16 (two years underage), and won the Academy's Vanburgh Award.[4][5] Ray emigrated to Australia in the mid-1960s.[6]
In 1960, Thaw made his stage début inA Shred of Evidence at theLiverpool Playhouse and was awarded a contract with the theatre. His first film role was a bit part inThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) starringTom Courtenay and he also acted on stage oppositeLaurence Olivier inSemi-Detached (1962). In 1963/64, he appeared in several episodes of theBBC seriesZ-Cars as a detective constable. Between 1964 and 1966, he starred in two series of theABC Weekend Television/ITV productionRedcap, playing the hard-nosed military policeman Sergeant John Mann. He was also a guest star in an early episode ofThe Avengers. In 1967 he appeared inBat Out of Hell and in theGranada TV/ITV seriesInheritance, alongsideJames Bolam andMichael Goodliffe; TV plays includingThe Talking Head, and episodes of series such asBudgie, where he played against type as an effeminate failed playwright with a full beard and a Welsh accent.[citation needed]
Thaw was cast in the police drama seriesThe Sweeney (1975–1978) alongsideDennis Waterman andGarfield Morgan, playing the hard-bitten, tough-talkingFlying Squad detective Jack Regan. It established him as a major star in the United Kingdom. He followed this with four series of the sitcomHome to Roost (1985–1990), which co-starredReece Dinsdale, about a divorced father whose teenage son moves back in with him after choosing as a child to live with his mother. He had previously co-starred in another ITV sitcom,Thick as Thieves (1974), withBob Hoskins.
Thaw's role asDetective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse inInspector Morse (1987–93, with later specials until 2000), cemented his fame. Alongside his put-uponDetective Sergeant Robert "Robbie" Lewis (Kevin Whately), Morse became a high-profile character—"a cognitive curmudgeon with his love of classical music, his drinking, his classic Jaguar and spates of melancholy".[7] According toThe Guardian, "Thaw was the definitive Morse, grumpy, crossword-fixated, drunk, slightly anti-feminist, and pedantic about grammar."[8]Inspector Morse became one of the UK's most popular TV series; at its peak in the mid-'90s, it was viewed by 18 million people, about one third of the British population.[9][10] He won "Most Popular Actor" at the 1999National Television Awards and won twoBAFTA awards for his role as Morse. Thaw is mainly known in the United States forInspector Morse, as well as for the BBC seriesA Year in Provence (1993) withLindsay Duncan.[citation needed]
Thaw subsequently played liberal working-classLancastrianbarrister James Kavanagh inKavanagh QC (1995–99, and a special in 2001).
Thaw appeared in a number of films for directorRichard Attenborough, includingCry Freedom, in which he portrayed the conservative South African justice ministerJimmy Kruger (receiving a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor), andChaplin, playing the Englishmusic hall impresarioFred Karno alongsideRobert Downey Jr. (Chaplin).[11]
Thaw also appeared in the TV adaptation of theMichelle Magorian bookGoodnight Mister Tom (Carlton Television/ITV). It won "Most Popular Drama" at theNational Television Awards, 1999.[12]
During the 1970s and 1980s, Thaw appeared in productions with theRoyal Shakespeare Company and theNational Theatre.[13][14]
Thaw was the subject ofThis Is Your Life in 1981 when he was surprised byEamonn Andrews in the foyer of the National Theatre in London.[15]
In 1964, Thaw marriedSally Alexander,[16] a feminist activist and stage manager, later professor of history atGoldsmiths, University of London. They divorced four years later.[17] He met actressSheila Hancock in 1969 on the set ofSo What About Love?[18] She was married to fellow actor Alexander "Alec" Ross. They became friends, but she refused to have an affair as she did not want to disrupt her daughter's life.[18] Following the death of her husband (fromoesophageal cancer) in 1971, Thaw and Hancock married on 24 December 1973 inCirencester.[18][19] They remained together until his death in 2002 (also from oesophageal cancer).[20]
Thaw had three daughters (all actresses):Abigail from his first marriage to Sally Alexander, Joanna from his second marriage to Sheila Hancock, and he also adopted Sheila Hancock's daughter Melanie Jane, from Hancock's first marriage to Alec Ross.[17][21] His granddaughter Molly Whitmey made a cameo in theEndeavour episode "Oracle" (series 7, episode 1, broadcast 9 February 2020) as the younger version of her grandmother Sally Alexander.[22]
Thaw was a committedsocialist[23] and a lifelong supporter of theLabour Party.[24] He was appointed aCommander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), the insignia for which he received in March 1993 from QueenElizabeth II.[25]
A heavy drinker until goingteetotal in 1995,[18] and a heavy smoker from the age of 12,[21] Thaw was diagnosed withcancer of the oesophagus in June 2001.[26][27] He underwentchemotherapy in hope of overcoming the illness, and at first had appeared to respond well to the treatment, but just before Christmas 2001 he was informed that the cancer had spread and the prognosis wasterminal.[28]
Thaw died on 21 February 2002,[21] seven weeks after his 60th birthday, the day after he signed a new contract with ITV,[29] and the day before his wife's birthday. At the time of his death he was living at his country home, near the villages ofLuckington andSherston in Wiltshire,[30] and was cremated inWesterleigh, nearYate inSouth Gloucestershire, in a private service.[31] A memorial service was held on 4 September 2002 atSt Martin-in-the-Fields church inTrafalgar Square, attended by 800 people includingCharles, Prince of Wales,Richard Attenborough,Tom Courtenay andCherie Blair.[32]
A memorial bench is dedicated to Thaw within the grounds ofSt Paul's, Covent Garden.[33]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | The Younger Generation | Customer / Max / Edward / Charlie / Peter / Denny / Martin | |
| 1961-1964 | ITV Play of the Week | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1962 | Probation Officer | Stan Liddell | 1 episode |
| Smashing Day | Stan | TV film | |
| Nil Carborundum | ACI Neville Harrison | ||
| 1963 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Charlie | Episode: "So Long Charlie" |
| ITV Television Playhouse | Barritt | Episode: "The Lads" | |
| Z Cars | Detective Constable Elliot | 4 episodes | |
| 1963–1965 | The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theater | Alan Roper / David Jones | "Five to One" / "Dead Man's Chest" |
| 1964 | The Avengers | Captain Trench | Episode: "Espirit De Corps" |
| 1964–1966 | Redcap | Sergeant John Mann | 2 series |
| 1966 | Bat Out of Hell | Mark Paxton | 5 episodes |
| Drama 61-67 | Harry Fox | Episode: "The Assassin at the Door" | |
| 1966- 1973 | BBC Play of the Month | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1967 | Inheritance | Will Oldroyd | Miniseries |
| 1969 | The Borderers | Sir Richard | Episode: "Dispossesed" |
| Strange Report | Inspector Jenner | Episode: "Revenge - When a Man Hates" | |
| 1969-1973 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1971 | ITV Sunday Night Drama | Him | Episode: "Turn of the Year: Parcel" |
| Budgie | Denzil Davies | Episode: "Sunset Mansions, or Whatever Happened to Janey-Baib?" | |
| The Onedin Line | Carby | Episode: "Mutiny" | |
| 1971-1972 | Armchair Theatre | Tony/Peter | 2 episodes |
| 1972 | Pretenders | Fast Jack | Episode: "The Paymaster" |
| The Frighteners | Wood | Episode: "Old Comrades" | |
| ITV Playhouse | Williams | Episode: "Refuge for a Hero" | |
| The Adventures of Black Beauty | Jack Desmond | Episode: "The Hostage" | |
| 1973 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Lt. Holst | Episode: "The Sensible Action of Lieutenant Holst" |
| The Protectors | Mario Carpiano | Episode: "Lena" | |
| 1974 | Armchair Cinema | DI Jack Regan | Episode: "Regan" |
| Thick As Thieves | Stan | ||
| The Capone Investment | Tom | ||
| 1975–1978 | The Sweeney | Det. Insp. Jack Regan | 53 episodes |
| 1976 | The Morecambe & Wise Show | Guvnor | Christmas special |
| 1978 | Play for Today | Dinny Matthews | Episode:Dinner at the Sporting Club |
| 1980 | Drake's Venture | Francis Drake | TV film |
| 1984 | Killer Waiting | Major Peter Hastings | |
| Mitch | Mitch | ||
| BBC Television Shakespeare | Hubert de Burgh | Episode:The Life and Death of King John | |
| 1985 | We'll Support You Evermore | Geoff Hollins | TV movie |
| 1985–1990 | Home to Roost | Henry Willows | 4 series |
| 1987–2000 | Inspector Morse | Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse | 33 television films |
| 1987 | The Return of Sherlock Holmes | Jonathan Small | Episode:The Sign of Four |
| 1989 | Bomber Harris | Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris | TV film |
| 1991 | Stanley and the Women | Stanley Duke | Miniseries |
| 1992 | A Year in Provence | Peter Mayle | |
| 1995 | Screen Two | George Jones | Episode:The Absence of War |
| 1995–2001 | Kavanagh QC | James Kavanagh, Q.C. | 6 series |
| 1998 | Goodnight Mister Tom | Tom Oakley | TV film |
| 1999 | Plastic Man | Joe McConnell | |
| The Second World War in Colour | Narrator | Documentary | |
| 2000 | Monsignor Renard | Monsignor Augustine Renard | Miniseries |
| 2001 | The Glass | Jim Proctor |
| Year | Title | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner | Bosworth (uncredited) |
| 1963 | Five To One | Alan Roper |
| 1965 | Dead Man's Chest | David Jones |
| 1968 | The Bofors Gun | Featherstone |
| 1970 | Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition | Dom |
| The Last Grenade | Terry Mitchell | |
| 1972 | Dr. Phibes Rises Again | Shavers |
| 1977 | Sweeney! | Detective Inspector Jack Regan |
| 1978 | Sweeney 2 | |
| 1981 | Killing Heat | Dick Turner |
| 1987 | Cry Freedom | Jimmy Kruger |
| 1988 | Business As Usual | Kieran Flynn |
| 1992 | Chaplin | Fred Karno |
| 1996 | Masculine Mescaline | The Man |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Evening Standard British Film Award | Best Actor | Sweeney! | Won |
| 1988 | BAFTA | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Cry Freedom | Nominated |
| 1990 | BAFTA TV | Best Actor | Inspector Morse | Won |
| 1991 | Nominated | |||
| 1992 | Nominated | |||
| 1993 | Won | |||
| 1995 | Aftonbladet TV Prize,Sweden | Best Foreign TV Personality – Male (Bästa utländska man) | Won | |
| 1998 | National Television Award | Special Recognition Award | Inspector Morse | Won |
| Most Popular Actor | Won | |||
| 1999 | Goodnight, Mister Tom | Won | ||
| 2000 | Monsignor Renard | Nominated | ||
| 2001 | Inspector Morse and Academy Fellowship | Won | ||
| 2002 | Buried Treasure | Nominated |
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