Triomphant et tragique Robert Shaw

French article from Ciné Revue magazine

Very special thanks to Fiona.

Tragic and Triumphant Robert Shaw

English Translation

Very special thanks to Elise.

The star of ‘Jaws’ cannot forget the woman he loved more than anything else.

The colossal success of ‘Jaws’ has meant that this excellent actor, born in England in 1927 has done what a 20 year long career never had: make him a worldwide star: Robert Shaw first appeared on screen in 1954 in ‘The Dam Busters’. Whilst being a theatre, TV and movie star, as well as writing a few novels in his ‘spare time’, he was the star of a series of ‘B’ movies whilst playing secondary roles in more important productions.

We saw him, after his beginnings under the leadership of Michael Anderson, in films as different as ‘Situation Hopeless… but not Serious’ (1960) for which he also wrote the screenplay; ‘The Valliant’ (1961, Baker); ‘From Russia with Love’ (1963, Young);’The Caretaker’ (1963 also, Donner); ‘The Luck of Ginger Coffey’ (1964, Kerschner): ‘The Battle of the Bulge’ (1965, Annakin); ‘Custer of the West’ (1966, Siodmak); ‘A Man for all Seasons’ (1966 also, Zinnemann) and in between as a good actor in other films praised by the critics whilst largely ignored by the public.

Finally in 1974 he received attention in a role in which ironically, he was almost unrecognizable, as Mr. Blue, the boss of the hijackers in ‘The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3’ directed by Joseph Sargent.

A Decisive Meeting with Steven Spielberg

Mr. Blue was still however a composition role for Robert Shaw, one of those parts which are praised by the critics, receive recognition from the profession but which rarely bring glory to the actor who plays them.

However destiny was to change the predictable outcome of things since this role revealed Robert Shaw to producer Richard D Zanuck, and to director Steven Spielberg.

They were looking for an actor capable of being the star of ‘Jaws’, a super-production they were preparing. They needed an actor capable of playing a difficult and somewhat ungrateful part, the real ‘star’ risking being a giant shark. Moreover they did not want to hire a big Hollywood star for several reasons: the budget, already considerable, could not be stretched further with the addition of a high salary for a star that may not only steal the limelight from the man-eating shark but could also take some credibility away from the film.

‘The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3’   therefore attracted the attention of the 2 men to this actor whom they had not initially considered but whom they knew could be excellent. He was contacted and he was interested straight away by the role of the old fisherman determined to kill the giant shark: anyway, such a film was the opportunity of a lifetime. Moreover, Shaw was a Spielberg admirer and was delighted at the idea of working with him.

Still young, Steven Spielberg was considered one of the great hopes of young American cinema. As a teenager he had written, produced and directed several avant-garde short films, first on 8mm, then 16mm then finally in 35mm footage. One of these films, ‘Amblin,’ was noticed by Sidney Sheinberg, President of M.C.A., one of America’s biggest T.V. channels. On his 21^st birthday, Spielberg signed a contract to direct several episodes of daytime drama: he directed Joan Crawford in ‘Night Gallery’, a medium-length feature for the ‘World Première’ series.

The success of these projects made the bosses of Universal decide to let him direct his first feature length film –‘Duel’- a low-budget horror story originally destined only for television. With a screenplay written by Richard Matheson (one of the finest American horror writers) Spielberg created a strange film, which, whilst not being without faults, clumsiness, naivety and even boring bits, was such a refreshing change from usual small-screen fare that it was decided to put ‘Duel’ on release on the cinema circuit.

‘Duel’ was released internationally and was such a huge and unexpected success (winning the Grand Prix at the Alvoriez Film Festival), due mainly to its original plot rather than its director’s prowess, that the attention of the producers was nevertheless attracted definitively to this young movie maker who was commissioned to make his first ‘real’ film: ‘The Sugarland Express’ which was to represent the USA at the Cannes Film Festival in 1974. The film still wasn’t faultless but Spielberg proved nevertheless his potential, notably when directing actors (Goldie Hawn, who was cast as the main female figure in the film narrowly missed winning the Best Female Actress award at Cannes). In any case, ‘The Sugarland Express’ was a success with the public. This was a decisive element: owner of the film rights to a Peter Benchley novel about a man-eating shark, Richard D. Zanuck naturally decided to allow his ‘protégé’ to direct. ‘Jaws’ was born…

On the road to Success…

It is doubtless unnecessary to recall in detail Jaw’s domestic success. Released in the summer, at holiday time (traditionally considered to be the worst possible time), the film caused an enthusiasm unprecedented in the history of cinema. Long queues accumulated outside every movie theatre where the film was being shown. In a few weeks all previous records set by ‘Gone with the Wind’ had been equaled and then smashed.

It is difficult to say whether the European success will equal its American triumph –the relative ‘flop’ of the ‘Exorcist’ in Europe is a precedent worth considering. It is nevertheless certain that ‘Jaws’ is the most eagerly awaited film of the season and that it is a production of considerable quality, spectacular, thrilling, brilliantly directed and well-done enough to enthrall Europeans just like Americans. The film itself is on a border line between a horror movie (a genre reviled by critics but much appreciated by the general public as well as Spielberg) and a disaster movie (a new genre which has come to be no doubt as a result of the worldwide political and economic crisis): it has the potential for a very well made cocktail if mixed correctly.

In any case, whatever the European release results, ‘Jaws’ will have to be counted amongst the top titles of this new young American cinema which Hollywood is so rightly proud of. It is quite obvious that Spielberg will become a star director, whilst Robert Shaw will be catapulted at last in to the forefront at the box office.

A Star is Born!

Suddenly the world’s press is interested in an actor who, up until now, has remained in relative shadow. We like to dig up his past, we publish his biography, and we try and interview him. Robert Shaw answers our questions with good grace. This discreet man is not bitter about his long period of near-total anonymity and not overwhelmed by his sudden success. He is wise enough not to play the capricious superstar just as he is intelligent enough to play his new role of star. He replies simply to the journalists who come to question him on a daily basis.

According to a well-established tradition of scandalmongers of all sorts, Robert Shaw is questioned first and foremost about his personal life.

Those avid for fresh scandal will be sadly disappointed as he is faithful to the memory of his late wife Mary Ure who passed away recently.

‘I do still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night screaming as I’ve dreamt about Mary’ he confesses.’ I sit up and instinctively touch the bed beside me thinking she’s there, sleeping peacefully. …But no! It’s all a nightmare!

Mary, who was also an actress, had been my wife for 11 years when she died. My grief was such that I tried to drown it with floods of vodka. During a good month I drank incredible amounts of alcohol, so much in fact that I became like drugged and stupid. But it was impossible for me to forget certain memories which would come back to me even during my sleep. I regained consciousness and realized that I had to pull myself together again, not only for Mary’s memory but for the good of our children as well’.

An Irreplaceable Loss

Mary Ure died last April. In a sad twist of irony, she died just when life was beginning to be kind to her again: her husband had found glory and she herself had triumphed on a London stage.

Her death, according to official reports, was accidental, Mary having absorbed too many tranquillizers and too much alcohol. ‘The doctors’, says Robert, ‘Say that Mary died from having taken tranquillizers and having drunk a whole bottle of champagne. I think what happened was quite simply her letting go of her stress and anxiety. Just when she realized she was at last going to relive success-which she had totally stopped believing in-she simply couldn’t deal with it.

She died a few weeks too early to see for herself the incredible success of ‘Jaws’. To deal with my grief and despair, I drowned myself frantically with my work: it’s the best solution’.

Robert Shaw, once ‘Jaws’ had wrapped, went to Spain to make another movie. It was there he learned the fury that Spielberg’s film was kicking up in the USA. It was whilst he was there that he made the following statement to a journalist:

‘Several months after Mary’s death, I still feel guilty. I wasn’t there when she died but that’s not the reason that I’m down on myself. What I’ll never forgive myself for, is for not helping her out enough when on a psychological level when she had serious professional problems. She was 42 and had not worked once in the last 2 years. She had got in to the habit of saying to me “Now I’m over forty, my career is well and truly done for”. In September 1974 she had found herself a part in an American show. I was away filming but I was pleased that she’d been given a 2^nd chance. Then I heard she’s been fired after just one night. It was a terrible disappointment for her. The callousness of the show business deciders seemed degrading to her. She was very competitive, even more so than I can be, and being sacked seemed to her to be the end of everything. She managed to find another engagement in London in a play called ‘Exorcism’. The opening night was in April 1975 and was a huge success largely due to Mary. She was expecting anything apart from success. Unfortunately on that evening as well I couldn’t be with her as I was getting up at dawn the next day to film. I of course had been to see the show but I left immediately afterwards to go home to bed whilst Mary went on to a party. She came home at about 3.30am. I was in bed: she asked me if I thought she had been good. I replied that of course, she was excellent, which was utterly true. Then Mary said she was going to take 2 pills to make sure she would sleep and that she would stay on the sofa so I wouldn’t disturb her the next morning. When I got up she hadn’t moved. I thought she was fast asleep and didn’t even kiss her to let her rest. I was filming 2 blocks from the house. At 11am I bought all the newspapers so she could read the reviews of the play all of which praised her except from 2 unfavorable ones which I threw away. I also bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate and went home. I found her dead. She’d died without having read the praise for her work.

For practically a whole day I managed to control myself more or less. Then I collapsed and cried all the tears in my body for 3 days…’

For the Sake of our Children

When the actor recalls the crisis he went through, he explains:

‘I finally realized that I had to protect myself against my unhappiness for the well-being of our children. I am certain that is what Mary would have wished. We have 9 kids in all, including those from our previous marriages.

Up until now, I’ve never really bothered that much with death. But now I’ve lost Mary, I am aware that I must be careful to live as long as possible. I’ve changed a lot these last few months. My conception of life has changed radically. Now my kids come first. I confess that beforehand I really was selfish and my career came first. Since Mary has gone, it’s different. No more of this self-centered philosophy. I’m alone, terribly alone. I don’t think that I could contemplate getting married again. My marriage to Mary was never raucous; the press never had the chance to talk about us. She was nevertheless wonderfully alive and extremely passionate. I know I can survive. If I can’t act anymore, for whatever reason, then I’ll write, that’s all. If I can’t write, then I’ll find something else to do to survive. I’ll have to, for my children’s sake.’

‘No!’ to an Actor’s Life

We understand that 1975 was for Robert Shaw a year of triumph and of tragedy.

He has spent a lot of time recently going over things and has decided that his children are what count the most.

‘I have 9 kids whose ages stretch from 5 to 22. I try and make absolutely no difference between those I had with Mary and those from our previous relationships. Naturally the kids have been raised by actors. But now more than ever I try and dissuade them from taking up the same career themselves. I am more and more convinced that it’s a crazy job. In America, the profession is severely hit by unemployment. About 80% of actors are unemployed – something we tend to forget- and remember only those who have had the luck to succeed. Being an actor is to do a job that is laden with senseless difficulties. It’s far worse for girls because whatever success they may have, in my mind, they remain sexual objects. In all the history of cinema women have been victims of the most terrible misogyny.

When a producer or a director sees an actor in his office, he asks himself 2 questions: How much and can he play the part? When the same man sees an actress, she is judged on different criteria: her waistline and her age. If the girl is young and pretty, chances are our man thinks about something else as well, but actresses get roles on purely sexual criteria.

No-one would think of telling John Wayne he’s too old to carry on making movies and many think that men even improve when they’re over 50. But how many women are pushed aside by the studios on the excuse that they are too old even though they are excellent actresses?’

A Conscientious Professional

According to his official biographies (subject to caution like those released by Press agents but to which we have to refer), Shaw was born in 1930 or 1927. He nevertheless appears significantly younger than Richard Burton who is actually only just slightly older than him.

The star of ‘Jaws’ explains himself with not a little humour about this crudeness:

‘I drink a lot more than Burton but there is a fundamental difference between the two of us: he does no sport between 2 benders when I stay in shape because of it. Of course I’m also fortunate to be a man. No woman could become a star after 40 or stay one for that matter. I can only give Katharine Hepburn as an example of a woman who has managed to do so.

The others keep up by lying about their age and by multiplying their attempts to look much younger than they really are. The entertainment industry is run by men. This must change and I think one day it probably will. But for the moment, things are not changing very much…

You mustn’t imagine however that things are always peachy for a male actor. When I was younger, I thought that success was entirely based on luck; equally I had no doubt about my future and was convinced I would be a star. Today, having finally reached my goal, I think the worst thing that could happen to a young actor is to be successful too young. I have known many young actors who were catapulted towards fame after their first film and then they disappeared forever. The career of a young star is similar to that of some boxers. From one day to the next, there’s fame, success, popularity and then, quite suddenly, nothing. Forgotten. Few get over that. At a certain point in my life, I spent a long period, a full year, without appearing in a single film.

I had 3 children to feed at the time. I did all sorts of jobs; that wasn’t the difficult part, but what I would define with hindsight as intellectual suffering, as a wound in my artistic aspirations, as an actor, was to be unemployed. You cannot stop yourself from thinking when it happens to you that if producers don’t hire you it’s because you’re a bad actor.

I’ve never found it degrading to dig ditches to earn my living instead of acting. I simply realized in a flash, what a cruel profession mine is.

In this job, every failure hurts you deeply. A writer can re read a sentence he’s just written and criticize it himself. When you’re an actor, and you’re told you’re rubbish, how do you know whether it’s the truth or not? Psychologically, an actor is as vulnerable as a child.

After all, actors like actresses are judged on sexual criteria. Who are the public’s and producers’ favorite actors? Those who have physical attraction, of course! I’m not what could be called a pretty boy but I’m aware that I have a certain appeal and I’m grateful for that.

Women should nevertheless have their say in an industry which basically expects them to be beautiful but silent. If it is so, it’s because a lot of men, in cinema and elsewhere, don’t really like women. I am proud to say that I am one of those rare men who genuinely love women.’

It’s clear from Robert Shaw’s popularity since ‘Jaws’ that the ladies are more than happy to reciprocate all the admiration he has for them!

Translations of the sentences appearing under or above the accompanying photos:

Page 1: Photo of Robert with Journalist Joan Mac Trevor:

‘I know I can survive’. Robert Shaw tells Joan Mac Trevor about the dreadful events he went through.

Page 1: Photo of Robert as Doyle Lonnegan:

In ‘The Sting’; a composition role which went far from being unnoticed.

Page 2: Photo with Mary Ure:

The picture of happiness: Robert Shaw and Mary Ure adore each other. But one night Mary’s nerves give out. A tube of sleeping pills and it’s tragedy…

Page 2: Photo of Robert as Martin Hessler:

‘The Battle of the Bulge’ by Ken Annakin gave the excellent Robert Shaw one of his most outstanding roles.

Page 3: Under Robert as Custer:

His presence and magnetism impose themselves on us in ‘Custer of the West’ by Robert Siodmak.

Page 3: Under Robert as Quint:

But the talents of this extraordinary actor are not fully explored until the amazing ‘Jaws’ where his receives at last public acclaim, long after the experts’.