Robert Shaw (Actor)

British actor Robert Shaw during the filming of Battle of the Bulge. (Photo: Larry Elli / Express / Getty Images)

Rough-hewn British character actor who made his stage debut in 1949 with the RSC and Old Vic and began appearing in films in the mid-1950s, often in war-themed films. Originally typecast in tough, villainous roles such as James Bond's KGB nemesis in the thriller "From Russian With Love" (1963), Shaw proved his versatility with an exuberant, Oscar-nominated performance as Henry VIII in the fine Robert Bolt adaptation, "A Man For All Seasons" (1966). Shaw gained international renown in the 1970s for his curmudgeonly roles in blockbuster hits such as "The Sting" (1973) and as the wily skipper in "Jaws" (1975). An award-winning novelist and respected playwright he also adapted his novel about Adolph Eichman "The Man in the Glass Booth" for the stage and for a 1975 film. His second of three wives was actress Mary Ure.