# John Thaw

John Edward Thaw (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor in television, stage and cinema, best known for his television roles starring as Detective Inspector Jack Regan in The Sweeney (1975—78) and as Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse in Inspector Morse (1987—2000).
For four consecutive years Thaw was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for playing Morse, winning in 1990 and 1993. In 1988, he was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the film Cry Freedom and in 2001 was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship.

## Early life

Born in Gorton, Manchester, to John Edward ("Jack") Thaw, a tool-setter at the Fairey Aviation Company aircraft factory, later a long-distance lorry driver, and Dorothy (née Ablott). 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 and Burnage, attending the Ducie Technical High School for Boys, gaining just one O level. He entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) at the age of 16 (two years underage), and won the Academy's Vanburgh Award. Ray emigrated to Australia in the mid-1960s.

## Career

In 1960, Thaw made his stage début in A Shred of Evidence at the Liverpool Playhouse and was awarded a contract with the theatre. His first film role was a bit part in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) starring Tom Courtenay and he also acted on stage opposite Laurence Olivier in Semi-Detached (1962). In 1963/64, he appeared in several episodes of the BBC series Z-Cars as a detective constable. Between 1964 and 1966, he starred in two series of the ABC Weekend Television/ITV production Redcap, playing the hard-nosed military policeman Sergeant John Mann. He was also a guest star in an early episode of The Avengers. In 1967 he appeared in Bat Out of Hell and in the Granada TV/ITV series, Inheritance, alongside James Bolam and Michael Goodliffe; TV plays including The Talking Head, and episodes of series such as Budgie, where he played against type as an effeminate failed playwright with a full beard and a Welsh accent.
Thaw was cast in the police drama series The Sweeney (1975–1978) alongside Dennis Waterman and Garfield Morgan, playing the hard-bitten, tough-talking Flying Squad detective Jack Regan. It established him as a major star in the United Kingdom. He followed this with the sitcom Home to Roost (1985–1990), which co-starred Reece Dinsdale, about a divorced father whose teenage son moves back in with him after choosing as a child to live with his mother. The show ran for four series.
Thaw's role as Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse in Inspector Morse (1987–93, with later specials until 2000), cemented his fame. Alongside his put-upon Detective 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". According to The Guardian, "Thaw was the definitive Morse, grumpy, crossword-fixated, drunk, slightly anti-feminist, and pedantic about grammar." Inspector Morse became one of the UK's most loved TV series; at its peak in the mid-'90s, ratings hit 18 million people, about one third of the British population. He won "Most Popular Actor" at the 1999 National Television Awards and won two BAFTA awards for his role as Morse.
He subsequently played liberal working-class Lancastrian barrister James Kavanagh in Kavanagh QC (1995–99, and a special in 2001). Thaw also appeared in two sitcoms—Thick as Thieves (London Weekend/ITV, 1974) with Bob Hoskins and Home to Roost (Yorkshire/ITV, 1985–90). Thaw is mainly known in America for the Morse series, as well as the BBC series A Year in Provence (1993) with Lindsay Duncan.
He appeared in a number of films for director Richard Attenborough, including Cry Freedom, where he portrayed the conservative South African justice minister Jimmy Kruger (for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor), and Chaplin where he played the English music hall impresario Fred Karno alongside Robert Downey Jr. (Chaplin).
Thaw also appeared in the TV adaptation of the Michelle Magorian book Goodnight Mister Tom (Carlton Television/ITV). It won "Most Popular Drama" at the National Television Awards, 1999.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Thaw appeared in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre.
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1981 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the foyer of the National Theatre in London.

## Personal life

In 1964, Thaw married Sally Alexander, a feminist activist and stage manager, now professor of history at Goldsmiths, University of London. They divorced four years later. He met actress Sheila Hancock in 1969 on the set of So What About Love? 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. Following the death of her husband (from oesophageal cancer) in 1971, Thaw and Hancock married on 24 December 1973 in Cirencester. They remained together until his death in 2002 (also from oesophageal cancer).
He 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. His granddaughter Molly Whitmey made a cameo in the Endeavour episode Oracle (series 7, episode 1, broadcast 9 February 2020) as the younger version of her grandmother Sally Alexander.
Thaw was a committed socialist and a lifelong supporter of the Labour Party. He was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in March 1993 by Queen Elizabeth II. In September 2006, Thaw was voted by the general public as number 3, after David Jason and Morecambe and Wise, in a poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars for the past 50 years.

## Illness and death

A heavy drinker until going teetotal in 1995, and a heavy smoker from the age of 12, Thaw was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in June 2001. He underwent chemotherapy in hope of overcoming the illness, and at first had appeared to respond well to the treatment. However, just before Christmas 2001 he was informed that the cancer had spread and the prognosis was terminal.
He died on 21 February 2002, seven weeks after his 60th birthday, the day after he signed a new contract with ITV, and the day before his wife's birthday. At the time of his death he was living at his country home, near the villages of Luckington and Sherston in Wiltshire, and was cremated in Westerleigh, near Yate in South Gloucestershire, in a private service. A memorial service was held on 4 September 2002 at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square, attended by 800 people including Charles, Prince of Wales, Richard Attenborough, Tom Courtenay and Cherie Blair.

## Television, film and stage performances
### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | The Younger Generation | Customer / Max / Edward / Charlie / Peter / Denny / Martin | |
| 1963–1965 | Edgar Wallace Mysteries | Alan Roper / David Jones | "Five to One" / "Dead Man's Chest" |
| 1963 | Z Cars | Detective Constable Elliot | |
| 1964–1966 | Redcap | Sergeant John Mann | 2 series |
| 1966 | Bat Out of Hell (TV series) | Mark Paxton | Five episodes |
| 1967 | Inheritance | Will Oldroyd | |
| 1969 | Strange Report | Inspector Jenner | Episode: "Revenge - When a Man Hates" |
| 1972 | The Frighteners | Wood | Episode: "Old Comrades" |
| 1974 | Thick As Thieves | Stan | |
| The Capone Investment | Tom | |
| 1975–1978 | The Sweeney | Det. Insp. Jack Regan | 4 series & 2 films |
| 1984 | Mitch | Mitch | |
| 1985–1990 | Home to Roost | Henry Willows | 4 series |
| 1987–2000 | Inspector Morse | Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse | 33 television films |
| 1991 | Stanley and the Women | Stanley Duke | |
| 1992 | A Year in Provence | Peter Mayle | |
| 1995–2001 | Kavanagh QC | James Kavanagh, Q.C. | 6 series |
| 1999 | Plastic Man | Joe McConnell | |
| 1999 | The Second World War in Colour | Narrator | |
| 2000 | Monsignor Renard | Monsignor Augustine Renard | |
| 2001 | The Glass | Jim Proctor | (final TV role) |

### Television films and plays

| Year | Title | Roles |
| 1961 | Serjeant Musgrave's Dance | |
| 1962 | Nil Carborundum | ACI Neville Harrison |
| 1963 | The Lads | |
| 1964 | I Can Walk Where I Like, Can't I? | |
| 1964 | The Other Man | |
| 1966 | The Making of Jericho | |
| 1974 | Regan | |
| 1978 | Dinner at the Sporting Club | |
| 1980 | Drake's Venture | Francis Drake |
| 1984 | Killer Waiting | Major Peter Hastings |
| 1984 | The Life and Death of King John | Hubert de Burgh |
| 1985 | We'll Support You Ever More | Geoff Hollins |
| 1986 | Stainheads | |
| 1987 | "The Sign of Four" (full-length episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes | Jonathan Small |
| 1989 | Bomber Harris | Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris |
| 1993 | The Mystery of Morse | |
| 1994 | The Absence of War | |
| 1996 | Into the Blue | Harry Barnett |
| 1998 | Goodnight Mister Tom | Tom Oakley |
| 1999 | The Waiting Time | Joshua Mantle |
| 2000 | The Last Morse | |
| 2000 | Inspector Morse: Rest in Peace | Inspector Morse |
| 2001 | Hidden Treasure / Buried Treasure | Harry (final film role) |

### Guest appearances

| Date | Show title | Episode title |
| 28 May 1962 | Probation Officer | |
| 15 August 1963 | ITV Television Playhouse | "The Lads" |
| 18 September 1963 | Z-Cars | "A La Carte" |
| 25 September 1963 | Z-Cars | "Light the Blue Paper" |
| 2 October 1963 | Z-Cars | "A Quiet Night" |
| 16 October 1963 | Z-Cars | "Hide – And Go Seek" |
| 14 March 1964 | The Avengers | "Esprit De Corps" |
| 12 October 1965 | A Poor Gentleman | |
| 19 October 1965 | A Poor Gentleman | |
| 31 October 1965 | The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre | "Dead Man's Chest" |
| 29 September 1967 | Inheritance | "Murder" |
| 1 December 1967 | Inheritance | "A Man of His Time" |
| 25 March 1969 | The Borderers | "Dispossessed" |
| 28 June 1969 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre | "The Haunting" |
| 30 August 1969 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre | "The Talking Head" |
| 11 October 1969 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre | In Another Country |
| 9 November 1969 | Strange Report | "Report 2475: Revenge – When a Man Hates" |
| 20 September 1970 | Play of the Month | "Macbeth" |
| 12 December 1970 | Happy Ever After | "Don't Walk Away" |
| 25 June 1971 | Budgie | "Sunset Mansions or Whatever Happened to Janey Baib?" |
| 5 October 1971 | Armchair Theatre | "Competition" |
| 14 December 1971 | Suspicion | "I'll Go Along With That" |
| 24 December 1971 | The Onedin Line | "Mutiny" |
| 9 April 1972 | Pretenders | "The Paymaster" |
| 21 July 1972 | The Frighteners | "Old Comrades" |
| 29 August 1972 | Armchair Theatre | "What Became of Me?" |
| 6 September 1972 | ITV Playhouse | "Refuge for a Hero" |
| 30 September 1972 | The Adventures of Black Beauty | "The Hostage" |
| 4 March 1973 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | "The Sensible Action of Lieutenant Horst" |
| 26 April 1973 | Menace | "Tom" |
| 16 May 1973 | BBC Play of the Month | "Caucasian Chalk Circle" |
| 20 May 1973 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre | "Passengers" |
| 28 December 1973 | The Protectors | "Mauro Carpiano" |
| 25 December 1976 | The Morecambe & Wise Show | "1976 Christmas Show" |
| 5 January 1977 | This Is Your Life | "Sheila Hancock" |
| 26 November 1978 | The South Bank Show | |
| 18 March 1981 | This Is Your Life | "John Thaw" |
| 4 December 1982 | Saturday Night Thriller | "Where is Betty Buchus?" |
| 1987 | Sherlock Holmes | "The Sign of Four |

### Theatrical films

| Year | Title | Roles |
| 1962 | Smashing Day | Stan |
| 1962 | The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner | Bosworth (uncredited) |
| 1963 | Five To One | Alan Roper |
| 1965 | Dead Man's Chest | |
| 1968 | The Bofors Gun | Featherstone |
| 1970 | Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition | Dom |
| 1970 | The Last Grenade | Terry Mitchell |
| 1972 | Dr. Phibes Rises Again | Shavers |
| 1977 | Sweeney! | Detective Inspector Jack Regan |
| 1978 | Sweeney 2 | Detective Inspector Jack Regan |
| 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 |
| 1998 | Goodnight Mister Tom | Tom |

### Stage

| Year | Title |
| 1958 | Cymbeline |
| 1958 | As You Like It |
| 1958 | The Cherry Orchard |
| 1958 | Pillars of Society |
| 1958 | The Taming of the Shrew |
| 1958 | A Winter's Tale |
| 1958 | The Lady's Not For Burning |
| 1958 | Twelfth Night |
| 1958 | Macbeth |
| 1959 | Hobson's Choice |
| 1959 | Paradise Lost |
| 1959 | Antigone |
| 1959 | Alcestis |
| 1959 | Faust |
| 1959 | The Knight of the Burning Pestle |
| 1960 | A Shred of Evidence |
| 1960 | The Wind and the Rain |
| 1960 | Staircase |
| 1961 | The Fires Raisers |
| 1961 | Chips With Everything |
| 1961 | Two into One |
| 1962 | Women Beware Women |
| 1962 | Semi-Detached |
| 1964 | The Father |
| 1967 | Around The World in 80 Days |
| 1967 | Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs |
| 1969 | So What About Love? |
| 1970 | Random Happenings in the Hebrides |
| 1971 | The Lady from the Sea |
| 1972 | Chinamen |
| 1972 | The New Quixote |
| 1972 | Black And Silver |
| 1972 | The Two of Us |
| 1973 | Collaborators |
| 1976 | Absurd Person Singular |
| 1977 | The Two of Us |
| 1978 | Night and Day |
| 1982 | Serjeant Musgrave's Dance |
| 1983 | Twelfth Night |
| 1983 | The Time of Your Life |
| 1983 | Henry VIII |
| 1984 | Pygmalion |
| 1986 | Two into One |
| 1988 | All My Sons |
| 1993 | The Absence of War by David Hare |
| 2001 | Peter Pan (final stage role) |

## Honours and awards

| 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 | BAFTA TV | Best Actor | Inspector Morse | Nominated |
| 1992 | BAFTA TV | Best Actor | Inspector Morse | Nominated |
| 1993 | BAFTA TV | Best Actor | Inspector Morse | 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 |
| 1998 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | Inspector Morse | Won |
| 1999 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | Goodnight, Mister Tom | Won |
| 2000 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | Monsignor Renard | Nominated |
| 2001 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | Inspector Morse and Academy Fellowship | Won |
| 2002 | National Television Award | Most Popular Actor | Buried Treasure | Nominated |
In 1994, Thaw was awarded with CBE. A memorial bench is dedicated to Thaw within the grounds of St Paul's Covent Garden.