John Thaw

It is believed that he was shortly due to have received a knighthood when he died from esophageal cancer at the age of 60 in 2002. He has since appeared in starring and supporting roles in many films, including Francis of Assisi, The Fiercest Heart, The Comancheros, Convicts Four, The Day and the Hour, Signpost to Murder, Shock Treatment, Rio Conchos, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Sands of the Kalahari, An American Dream, The Last Escape, The Invincible Six, Night of the Lepus, Shatter, Tony Saitta, and Guyana: Crime of the Century. Thaw was awarded the CBE in 1994. In 1961, Whitman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as a child molester in The Mark. Thaw was eventually cured a year before his death. His first starring role was in Murder, Inc. in 1960. In her 2004 autobiography Sheila Hancock revealed the extent of Thaw's alcoholism that had started in the late 1970s and caused problems in their marraige and the gaps in Thaw's career in the early 1980s and later 1990s . He had a small part in When Worlds Collide, then took small roles in such films as The All American, Brigadoon, Ten North Frederick and The Sound and the Fury.

Thaw has two daughters, Abigail Thaw from his first marriage, and Joanna Thaw from his second. After leaving the army, he enrolled in Los Angeles City College and the Los Angeles Academy of Dramatic Art. He married actress Sheila Hancock in 1973 whom he remained with until his death in 2002. Born in San Francisco, California, he graduated from high school in Los Angeles and spent three years in the Army Corps of Engineers, where he took up boxing. In 1964 Thaw married Sally Alexander, but they divorced four years later. Stuart Whitman (born February 1, 1926 or, according to other sources 1928 or 1929) is an American actor. Thaw has appeared in a number of films, including Cry Freedom, which received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Chaplin for director Richard Attenborough.

His only screen project not considered a popular success was the BBC series 'A Year in Provence'. Thaw also tried his hand at comedy with his own sitcom called Home to Roost (1985 - 1988). He subsequently played liberal barrister James Kavanagh in Kavanagh QC (1995 - 1999, with a special in 2001). He won two BAFTA awards for Inspector Morse.

Thaw will perhaps be best remembered for two roles: the hard-bitten Flying Squad detective Jack Regan in the television series (and two films) The Sweeney (1975 - 1978), which established him as a major star in the United Kingdom, and as the quietly-spoken, introspective and bitter detective Inspector Morse (1987 - 2001), with specials in 1995 - 1998 and 2000. His first film role was a bit part in the 1962 adaptation of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner starring Tom Courtney. On leaving RADA Thaw was awarded a contract with the Liverpool Playhouse. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he was a contemporary of Tom Courtney.

Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in West Gorton, Manchester. John Thaw (January 3, 1942 - February 21, 2002) CBE, was a British actor who achieved his first starring role in the military police television drama Redcap (1964 - 1966), and subsequently appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles.