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John Thaw (January 3, 1942 - February 21, 2002)
Order of the British Empire|CBE, was a United
Kingdom|British actor who achieved his first
starring role in the military police television
drama Redcap (TV series)|Redcap (1964 - 1966), and
subsequently appeared in a range of television,
stage and cinema roles.

Thaw came from a working class background, having
been born in West Gorton, Manchester. He studied
at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he was
a contemporary of Tom Courtenay. On leaving RADA
Thaw was awarded a contract with the Liverpool
Playhouse. His first film role was a bit part in
the 1962 adaptation of The Loneliness of the Long
Distance Runner starring Tom Courtenay.

Thaw will perhaps be best remembered for two
roles: the hard-bitten Flying Squad detective Jack
Regan in the television series (and two films) The
Sweeney (1975 - 1978), which established him as a
major star in the United Kingdom, and as the
quietly-spoken, introspective and bitter detective
Inspector Morse (1987 - 2001), with specials in
1995 - 1998 and 2000. He won two BAFTA awards for
Inspector Morse.

He subsequently played liberal barrister James
Kavanagh in Kavanagh QC (1995 - 1999, with a
special in 2001). Thaw also tried his hand at
comedy with his own sitcom called Home to Roost
(1985 - 1988). His only screen project not
considered a popular success was the BBC  series
'A Year in Provence'.

Thaw has appeared in a number of films, including
Cry Freedom, which received a BAFTA nomination for
Best Supporting Actor,  and Chaplin for director
Richard Attenborough.

In 1964 Thaw married Sally Alexander, but they
divorced four years later. He married actress
Sheila Hancock in 1973 whom he remained with until
his death in 2002. Thaw has two daughters, Abigail
Thaw from his first marriage, and Joanna Thaw from
his second.

In her 2004 autobiography Sheila Hancock revealed
the extent of Thaw's alcoholism that had started
in the late 1970s and caused problems in their
marriage and the gaps in Thaw's career in the
early 1980s and later 1990s. Thaw was eventually
cured a year before his death. 

Thaw was awarded the Order of the British
Empire|CBE in 1994. It is believed that he was
shortly due to have received a knighthood when he
died from esophageal cancer at the age of 60 in
2002.