Legendary media mogul Sir Run Run Shaw has died. He was 106.
Best known in the U.S. for his role as a producer on the Ridley Scott classic Blade Runner,
Shaw was instrumental to the development of Chinese cinema, producing
dozens of films over the course of decades. He and his brother first
started work in cinema in 1926 and became incredibly prolific producers
of film and television, particularly of martial arts films. Some of the
films that may be recognizable to American audiences include Five Deadly Venoms, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and The Supreme Swordsman.
In 1974, he jointly produced 'The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' and 'Call Him Mr Shatter' with Hammer Films, both starring Peter Cushing. Also that year he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE). He received a knighthood in 1977 from Queen Elizabeth II and the
Grand Bauhinia Medal (GBM) from the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region government in 1998. In 2007, coinciding with his 100th birthday,
Shaw was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hong Kong
Film Awards, and in 2013, Sir Run Run Shaw received the BAFTA Special
Award for his outstanding contribution to cinema.
2899 Runrun Shaw, a small main belt asteroid discovered by Chinese
astronomers in 1964, is named after Sir Run Run Shaw. In 2004, he
established The Shaw Prize, which he called “The Nobel Prize of the
East.” It awards up to $1 million each year in the categories of
astronomy, mathematics, life science and medical science.
In 2000, through his company, Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited, he sold
his unique library of 760 classic titles to Celestial Pictures Limited.
Celestial is currently restoring the Shaw Brothers’ movies and
distributing them to cinemas and the worldwide television and home video
markets.
