Early career '' (1957) Shaw began his acting career in theatre, appearing in regional theatre throughout England. He played Angus in a production of
Macbeth at
Stratford in 1946. He was by this time a TV leading man, having lead roles in TV films such as
Success (1957) and a TV version of
Rupert of Hentzau (1957). He had a big stage success with
The Long and the Short and the Tall on the West End in 1959, directed by
Lindsay Anderson, a performance that was filmed for television (though Shaw did not appear in the feature film version). Shaw had small roles in
Sea Fury (1958) and
Libel (1959) and guest-starred on
William Tell,
ITV Television Playhouse,
The Four Just Men, and
Danger Man. He also appeared in TV plays including
The Dark Man,
Misfire and
The Train Set. In 1961, he appeared in a
Broadway production of
Harold Pinter's
The Caretaker alongside
Donald Pleasence and
Alan Bates. Shaw replaced
Peter Woodthorpe, who had performed with the others on stage in London. It ran for 165 performances. He had good roles in
The Valiant, a war film, and
Tomorrow at Ten (both 1962), a thriller. Shaw played the leads in TV versions of ''
The Winter's Tale and The Father (both 1962). He, Pleasence, and Bates reprised their performances in a film version of The Caretaker'' (1963); Shaw was part of the consortium who helped finance the latter.
Writing Shaw's first novel,
The Hiding Place, published in 1960, received positive reviews. His second novel
The Sun Doctor (1961), was awarded the
Hawthornden Prize in 1962.
Film fame Shaw became well known as a film actor when cast as assassin Donald "Red" Grant in the second
James Bond film,
From Russia with Love (1963). For TV he adapted and appeared in a production of
A Florentine Tragedy (1963), and was Claudius in
Hamlet at Elsinore (1964) with
Christopher Plummer. He played the title role in
The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964), shot in Canada alongside
Mary Ure, who became his second wife. He had a role in
A Carol for Another Christmas (1964). Shaw later said of his early career, "I could have been a straight leading man but that struck me as a boring life." In 1964, Shaw returned to Broadway in a production of
The Physicists directed by
Peter Brook but it ran for only 55 performances. "I want very much to avoid doing bad commercial pictures for lots of money", he said. "It's difficult to avoid with six kids and two wives." Shaw then embarked on a trilogy of novels –
The Flag (1965),
The Man in the Glass Booth (1967) and
A Card from Morocco (1969). He also adapted
The Hiding Place into a screenplay for the film
Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious starring Sir
Alec Guinness. Shaw was the relentless
Wehrmacht panzer commander Colonel Hessler in
Battle of the Bulge (1965), produced by
Philip Yordan; a young
Henry VIII in
A Man for All Seasons (1966), which earned him a nomination for the
Golden Globe Award and the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; General
George Armstrong Custer in
Custer of the West (1967), again for Yordan;
Martin Luther in
Luther (a 1968 film made for television); he was top billed in another film version of Pinter's
The Birthday Party (1968), directed by
William Friedkin.
The Man in the Glass Booth His play
The Man in the Glass Booth was a success in London in 1967. It transferred to Broadway the following year and was a hit, running for 264 performances. His adaptation for the stage of
The Man in the Glass Booth gained him the most attention for his writing. The book and play present a complex and morally ambiguous tale of a man who, at various times in the story, is either a Jewish businessman pretending to be a Nazi war criminal, or a Nazi war criminal pretending to be a Jewish businessman. The play was quite controversial when performed in the UK and the US, some critics praising Shaw's "sly, deft and complex examination of the moral issues of nationality and identity", others sharply critical of Shaw's treatment of such a sensitive subject. The play, but not the movie, presents the question: "Given the chance, would Jews behave like Nazis?" Shaw was one of many stars in
Battle of Britain (1969), with the role of
Sailor Malan written specifically for him. He had the lead in
The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969) where he played Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, alongside Christopher Plummer who played Incan Emperor Atahualpa, and
Figures in a Landscape (1970); his fee for the latter was reportedly $500,000. In 1970, Shaw returned to Broadway playing the title role in
Gantry, a musical adaptation of
Elmer Gantry, which ran for just one performance, despite co-starring
Rita Moreno. As an actor he appeared in
A Town Called Bastard (1971), a spaghetti Western;
Young Winston (1972), as
Lord Randolph Churchill;
A Reflection of Fear (1972);
The Hireling (1973); he had a cameo in
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973); played mobster Doyle Lonnegan in
The Sting (1973), a huge hit; was the subway-hijacker and hostage-taker "Mr. Blue" in
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). He made his final appearance on Broadway, in a production of
Dance of Death, in 1974.
The Man in the Glass Booth was further developed for the screen, but Shaw disapproved of the resulting screenplay and had his name removed from the credits. However, he viewed the completed film before its release and asked to have his name reinstated. In 2002, director
Arthur Hiller related Shaw's initial objection to the screenplay and his subsequent change of heart:When we decided that we needed more emotions in the film and leaned it towards that, we tried, obviously, to be honest to Robert Shaw, to keep that intellectual game-playing, but to create more of an emotional environment. And Robert Shaw became very disturbed. He did not like the idea and indeed, if you will watch the film, you will see that his name does not appear in the credits, nor does it even say, "based on the play,
The Man in the Glass Booth" because he wouldn't let us do it. He just didn't like the idea until he saw the film. Then he phoned Eddie Anhalt, the screenwriter, and congratulated him because he thought it was—just kept the tone he wanted and did it so well. And he phoned Mort Abrahams the Executive Producer to see if he could get his name put on the final credits. But it was too late to restore his name, all the prints were all made. Arthur Hiller's account is uncorroborated. Shaw then appeared in
End of the Game (1975);
Diamonds (1975), because "I wanted to play a wonderfully elegant Englishman"; and as Israeli
Mossad agent David Kabakov in
Black Sunday (1977). During filming
Force 10 from Navarone (1978) Shaw said "I'm seriously thinking that this might be my last film... I no longer have anything real to say. I'm appalled at some of the lines... I'm not at ease in film. I can't remember the last film I enjoyed making." He made one more film,
Avalanche Express (1979). Shaw and director/producer Mark Robson both died of heart attacks during post-production within months of each other; Robson in June 1978 and Shaw in August 1978. Shaw said he would use the proceeds from the film to pay off his taxes, then focus on writing and making the "occasional small film". ==Personal life==