Who was Robert Archibald Shaw?

Robert Archibald Shaw (9 August 1927 – 28 August 1978) was an English actor, novelist, and playwright. He was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his role as Henry VIII in the drama film "A Man for All Seasons" (1966). He played the mobster Doyle Lonnegan in "The Sting" (1973) and the shark hunter Quint in "Jaws" (1975).

Shaw's other notable film roles include "From Russia with Love" (1963), "Battle of Britain" (1969), "Young Winston" (1972), "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974), "Robin and Marian" (1976) and "Black Sunday "(1977).

Beginning his career in theatre, Shaw joined the Royal Shakespeare Company after the Second World War and appeared in productions of "Macbeth", "Henry VIII", "Cymbeline", and other Shakespeare plays. With the Old Vic company (1951–52), he continued primarily in Shakespearean roles. In 1959 he starred in a West End production of "The Long and the Short and the Tall".

Robert Archibald Shaw was born on 9 August 1927 at 51 King Street in Westhoughton, Lancashire, the son of former nurse Doreen Nora (née Avery), who was born in Piggs Peak, Swaziland, and Thomas Archibald Shaw, a doctor of Scottish descent. He had three sisters named Elisabeth, Joanna, and Wendy, and one brother named Alexander. When he was seven years old, the family moved to Scotland, settling in Stromness, Orkney.