- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohn Edward Thaw
- Height5′ 7½″ (1.71 m)
- He was the working class boy from Manchester whose intensity and natural honesty made him British television's most bankable actor. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first starring role on TV was as Sgt John Mann in Redcap (1964). His first great success, though, was as Detective Inspector Regan in The Sweeney (1975). Violent and uncompromising, the series changed the portrayal of police work on British television and was one of the defining dramas of the 1970s.
For Inspector Morse (1987), Thaw was yet again cast as a policeman, but this time a more cultured character than Regan. The leisurely-paced series, set in beautiful Oxfordshire, was Thaw's most popular and long-running project. It established him as British television's most bankable actor, and during the 1990s he had many other starring vehicles. He was also a favourite of film director Richard Attenborough, who cast him in Cry Freedom (1987) and Chaplin (1992).
John Thaw was a quiet, private man. His marriage to actress Sheila Hancock was generally regarded as one of the strongest in showbusiness. When he died at the age of 60, the BBC website was inundated with tributes from the viewing public. His "Inspector Morse" co-star Kevin Whately simply described him as the country's finest screen actor.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- SpousesSheila Hancock(December 24, 1973 - February 21, 2002) (his death, 1 child)Sally Alexander(June 27, 1964 - 1968) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- Often played men older than his real-life age
- Rich smooth voice
- Thaw was a fan of classical music ever since he was a young man.
- He lived quietly in an 18th century manor house in Wiltshire, England.
- His father, John, was a long distance lorry driver. His mother Dorothy (Dolly) walked out on the family when he was 7 years old. He did not see her again for 12 years when she showed up briefly back stage in a production of "The Fire Raisers." He never saw her again. She died of stomach cancer in 1974.
- He started smoking when he was twelve, and smoked 60 cigarettes a day as an adult.
- He broke his foot in his teens when he tripped while running for a school bus. This left him with a slight limp that is noticeable in some scenes of the Inspector Morse series.
- I didn't want the television Morse to end like Frank Sinatra - doing an endless series of farewell concerts.
- I get to work with some of the finest actors around.
- I was born looking fifty.
- [on Sheila Hancock] When I first met her, I had no idea I was looking for a wife. I was just extremely attracted to her. Now, all these years later, I see how lucky I was to have found her because it's difficult to imagine life with anyone else. Maybe it's the years of rubbing together, we do have the same outlook on life - on politics, ideals, morals. We're very similar people in all sorts of ways and we're very close. We're certainly best friends.
- I was going to say that Sheila and Sally are not at all alike -- except they're both extremely intelligent women. When I met Sheila I wasn't consciously looking for anything in particular. I was just very attracted to her. Who knows why people fall in love? All I know is that I'm a very lucky man.
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