View source for Run Run Shaw

{{Short description|Hong Kong entertainment mogul and philanthropist (1907–2014)}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Shao|Shaw (Shao/Siu)]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[The Honourable]] Sir
| name               = Run Run Shaw
| honorific_suffix   = [[Grand Bauhinia Medal|GBM]], [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire|CBE]]
| image              = Run Run Shaw 1955.jpg
| caption            = Shaw in 1955
| native_name        = {{nobold|邵逸夫}}
| native_name_lang   = zh
| birth_name         = Shao Renleng ({{lang|zh-hant|邵仁楞}})
| othername          = Shao Yifu ({{lang|zh-hant|邵逸夫}}) <br/>Siu Yat-fu<br/>Uncle Six ({{lang|zh|六叔}}, Luk Suk)<ref>{{cite web|title=Sir Run Run Shaw|work=Hong Kong Movie Database|url=http://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=13230&display_set=eng|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref>
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1907|11|19}}
| birth_place        =[[Ningbo]], China
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2014|1|7|1907|11|19}}
| death_place        = [[Kowloon]], [[Hong Kong]], [[China]]
| occupation         = Businessman, filmmaker, philanthropist
| boards             = [[Shaw Brothers Studio]],<br/>[[Television Broadcasts Ltd.]]
| years_active       = 1925–2012
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
*{{marriage|Wong Mee-chun ({{lang|zh-hant|黃美珍}})|1931|1987|end=died}}
*{{marriage|[[Mona Fong]]|1997}}
}}
| children           = 4
| relatives          = [[Runje Shaw]]<br/>[[Runde Shaw]]<br/>[[Runme Shaw]]
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| pic = Sir Run Run Shaw, Avenue of Stars.JPG
| picsize = 150px
| piccap = Shaw's star on the [[Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong|Avenue of Stars]]
| showflag = c
| c = 邵逸夫
| p = Shào Yìfū
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|sh|ao|4|-|yi|4|f|u|1}}
| myr = Shàu Yìfū
| w = Shao<sup>4</sup> I<sup>4</sup>-fu<sup>2</sup>
| y = Siuh Yaht-Fū
| j = Siu6 Jat6 Fu1
| ci = {{IPA|yue|ɕìːu jɐ̀t fúː|}}
}}

'''Sir Run Run Shaw''' {{postnominals|country=HKG|GBM|CBE}} (born '''Shao Renleng'''; 19 November 1907 – 7 January 2014), also known as '''Shao Yifu''' and '''Siu Yat-fu''', was a Hong Kong businessman, filmmaker, and philanthropist. He was one of the foremost influential movie moguls in the East Asian and Hong Kong entertainment industry.<ref name="abc news">{{cite news |last=Chan |first=Kelvin K. |date=7 January 2014 |title=HK Movie Mogul Run Run Shaw Has Died |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/hk-movie-mogul-run-run-shaw-died-age-21443107 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107081010/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/hk-movie-mogul-run-run-shaw-died-age-21443107 |archive-date=2014-01-07 |access-date=2025-03-15 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> He founded the [[Shaw Brothers Studio]], one of the largest film production companies in Hong Kong, and [[TVB]], the dominant television company in Hong Kong.

A well-known philanthropist, Shaw donated billions of [[Hong Kong dollars]] to educational institutions in Hong Kong and mainland China. More than 5,000 buildings on Chinese college campuses bear his name,<ref name="chinadaily" /> as does [[Shaw College (Hong Kong)|Shaw College]] of the [[Chinese University of Hong Kong]]. He also established the [[Shaw Prize]] for Astronomy, Life Science & Medicine and Mathematical Sciences.

==Early life==

Shaw was born in [[Ningbo]], as the youngest of the six sons of a Ningbo textile merchant who was based in Shanghai, Shaw Yuh Hsuen ({{lang|zh|邵行銀}}; 1866–1921), and his wife, Huang Shun Xiang ({{lang|zh|黃順香}}; 1871–1939).<ref>{{cite web |title=About Shaw: The Beginning 1924–1933 |url=http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=1_1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115654/http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=1_1 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |access-date=9 January 2014 |publisher=Shaw Theatres}}</ref><ref name="who">{{Cite book|title=Who's Who 2007: an Annual Biographical Dictionary|publisher=A&C Black|year=2007|edition=159th Annual|isbn=978-0-7136-7527-6}}</ref> His name at birth was Shao Renleng ({{lang|zh|邵仁楞}}), which was later changed to Shao Yifu (邵逸夫) because he thought that the average Chinese person would not know how to pronounce the character {{lang|zh|楞}} (''léng'').<ref name="mingbao">{{cite web |last=Wen |first=Yaqiong |author-mask=Wen Yaqiong (温雅琼) |date=8 January 2014 |title=「Run Run」來自原名譯音 |url=http://www.chinanews.com/ga/2014/01-08/5711000.shtml |work=[[China News Service]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvbnewsworld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/unprecedented-tvb-kingdom-end-with-sale.html|title=Unprecendented TVB Kingdom end with Sales|date=9 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109194058/http://tvbnewsworld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/unprecedented-tvb-kingdom-end-with-sale.html|archive-date=9 January 2014}} Translation of the content of preceding Chinese news website in its last three paragraphs.</ref> There are a number of explanations given for the use of his English name Run Run Shaw,<ref name="chinadaily">{{cite news |author=Zhou |first=Raymond |date=8 January 2014 |title=Movie mogul dies in HK |url=http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2014-01/08/content_17224049.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109183556/http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2014-01/08/content_17224049.htm |archive-date=9 January 2014 |access-date=9 January 2014 |work=[[China Daily|China Daily USA]]}}</ref><ref name="NYT"/> but Shaw reportedly said that it was simply a transcription of his birth name Shao Renleng in the [[Ningbo dialect]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/01/09/3301s807331.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140110081247/http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/01/09/3301s807331.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 January 2014|title=Run Run Shaw: A Legend of A Century|work=News Plus|date=9 January 2014 }}</ref>

He celebrated his birthdays on the 14th day of the 10th month of the [[Chinese lunisolar calendar]], which fell on 23 November 2007, his 100th Chinese calendar birthday.<ref name="Wall Street Journal">{{cite news |last=Ng |first=Jeffrey |date=2014-01-07 |title=Media Mogul Run Run Shaw Dies at 106 |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304887104579305953209628512 |url-access=subscription |access-date=16 January 2014 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last=Kandell |first=Jonathan |date=6 January 2014 |title=Run Run Shaw, Chinese-Movie Giant of the Kung Fu Genre, Dies at 106 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/movies/run-run-shaw-movie-mogul-seen-as-creator-of-kung-fu-genre-dies-at-106.html |access-date=8 January 2014 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> However, the 14th day of the 10th month of the Chinese calendar corresponds to 19 November 1907 on the [[Gregorian calendar]], which according to ''[[China Daily]]'' was his birthdate.<ref name="chinadaily2">{{cite news |last=Gu |first=Cindy |date=7 January 2014 |title=Shaw remembered for his pioneering work in cinema |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2014-01/07/content_17220665.htm |access-date=8 January 2014 |newspaper=[[China Daily]]}}</ref>

As a child, his family moved to Shanghai.<ref name="NYT"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Frater |first=Patrick |title=Run Run Shaw, Producer of 'Blade Runner,' Martial Arts Films, Dies at 106 |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/sir-run-run-shaw-producer-of-blade-runner-martial-arts-films-dies-at-106-1201032539/ |access-date=16 January 2014 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> He graduated from the Shanghai YMCA School, where he learned English.<ref name="scmp">{{cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1400191/sir-run-run-shaw-legend-heart-gold|title=Sir Run Run Shaw: The legend with a heart of gold|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=8 January 2014|access-date=8 January 2014}}</ref>

==Career==

[[File:Run Run Shaw youth.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Run Run Shaw in 1927]]

===Early ventures===

In 1925, Shaw's brothers, led by the eldest brother [[Runje Shaw]], established [[Tianyi Film Company]] (also called Unique Film Productions) in Shanghai,<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter"/> and Run Run Shaw began his film career doing odd jobs for the company.<ref name="chinadaily"/> In 1927, Run Run Shaw, then 19 years old, went to Singapore to assist his third elder brother [[Runme Shaw]] in their business venture there, initially to market films to Southeast Asia's [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese community]]. They established the company that would later become the [[Shaw Organisation]], and were involved in distributing and producing films in Southeast Asia.<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter"/> Tianyi produced what is considered the first [[sound-on-film]] Chinese [[talkie]] in 1931,<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDRxR-wb-fsC&pg=PT262|title=A Companion to Chinese Cinema|editor=Yingjin Zhang|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell|chapter=Chapter 24 – Chinese Cinema and Technology |author=Gary G. Xu|year=2012|isbn=978-1444330298|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> and made the first Cantonese sound film in 1932. It was highly successful, and Tianyi established a branch in Hong Kong in 1934.<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter">{{cite news |last=Coonan |first=Clifford |date=6 January 2014 |title=Legendary Producer Run Run Shaw Dies at 106 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/run-run-shaw-dies-at-668752 |access-date=2025-03-15 |newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref>

Just before the [[Battle of Shanghai|Japanese invasion of Shanghai]] in 1937, Tianyi moved its operation to Hong Kong, shipping its equipment from Shanghai.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_OfkubWaEwC&pg=PA76 |title=Chinese National Cinema|author=Yingjin Zhang|page=76|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=978-0415172905|access-date=16 January 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8cWK5kYS9MC&pg=PA30|title=Hong Kong Cinema: Coloniser, Motherland and Self|author=Yingchi Chu|page=30|publisher=Routledge|year=2009|isbn=978-0415546331|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> Its studio in Shanghai was destroyed when the Japanese occupied the city.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDRxR-wb-fsC&pg=PT308|title=A Companion to Chinese Cinema|author=Yingjin Zhang|page=308|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2012 |isbn= 9781444355970 |access-date= 16 January 2014}}</ref> In Hong Kong, Tianyi was reorganised as Nanyang Studio, which later became [[Shaw Brothers Studio]].<ref>{{cite web |title=About Shaw – Japanese Occupation – Nanyang Studio, Hong Kong |url=http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=125%20239%20190%20213%2051%2058%20124%20113%20112%20169%2024%2045%20230%20240%20249%20136 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321045302/http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=125%20239%20190%20213%2051%2058%20124%20113%20112%20169%2024%2045%20230%20240%20249%20136 |archive-date=2015-03-21 |access-date=16 January 2014 |work=Shaw Online}}</ref> Run Run Shaw was credited with scripting and directing the 1937 comedy film ''Country Bumpkin Visits His In-laws''.<ref name="ST"/>

In his early days in Singapore, Run Run Shaw supervised the company's business while Runme travelled north to [[British Malaya|Malaya]] to establish ties with local theatre owners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=226%2096%2067%2081%20169%20126%20184%2095%20198%20238%20168%20224%2068%20250%20107%20155|title=About Shaw – Shaw Films, Malaya, Pre War|work=Shaw Online|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> In 1927, having noticed that there were few cinemas in Malaya, Runme decided to open four cinemas there to show their films.<ref name="Asiaweek">{{cite web |last=Siu Lan |first=Law |date=11 October 1996 |title=Movie Magic |url=http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/96/1011/cs6.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623154832/http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/96/1011/cs6.html |archive-date=23 June 2012 |access-date=16 January 2014 |work=[[Asiaweek]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=59%2035%20193%2039%2078%20227%20238%20144%20186%20229%20185%2078%20181%20196%2042%2031 |title= About Shaw – The Beginning 1924–1933 |work=Shaw online |access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> By 1939, the brothers owned a chain of 139 cinemas across the region;<ref>{{cite news |date=7 January 2014 |title=Run Run Shaw dies |url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=45022&icid=a&d_str= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112221311/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=45022&icid=a&d_str= |archive-date=12 January 2014 |access-date=2025-03-15 |newspaper=[[The Standard (Hong Kong)|The Standard]] |agency=[[RTHK]]}}</ref> the chain would later include Singapore's first air-conditioned cinema, at [[Beach Road, Singapore|Beach Road]]. They also established a number of amusement parks throughout the region, including [[Borneo]], Thailand and [[Java]], such as the [[Great World Amusement Park]] at [[Kim Seng|Kim Seng Road]].<ref name="ST">{{cite news |last=Li |first=Xueying |date=7 January 2014 |title=Hong Kong movie mogul Run Run Shaw dies |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/hong-kong-movie-mogul-run-run-shaw-dies-aged-107-20140107 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107050311/http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/hong-kong-movie-mogul-run-run-shaw-dies-aged-107-20140107 |archive-date=2014-01-07 |access-date=2025-03-15 |newspaper=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref><ref name="HKU">{{cite web|url=http://www4.hku.hk/hongrads/index.php/archive/graduate_detail/122|title=108th Congregation (1980) – Sir Run Run SHAW|publisher=The University of Hong Kong|access-date=16 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131128015953/http://www4.hku.hk/hongrads/index.php/archive/graduate_detail/122|archive-date=28 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The brothers began to make Malay films in Singapore in 1937.<ref name="malay films1">{{cite web|url=http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=155%20228%20232%2026%20251%20183%2049%2096%20185%2092%2072%20190%2094%20180%20241%20241|title=About Shaw – Shaw Studio, Pre War – The Great Depression 1930|work=Shaw Online}}</ref> Inspired by the success of films intended for [[Ethnic Malays|Malay]] audiences, for example ''Leila Majnun'' in 1934,<ref name="malay films1"/> and other films from the [[Dutch East Indies]], the brothers established [[Malay Film Productions]] (MFP).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qWklvbDlYc4C|title=Reclaiming Adat: Contemporary Malaysian Film and Literature|isbn=978-0-7748-1172-9|last1=Khoo|first1=Gaik Cheng|year=2006|page=90|publisher=University of British Columbia Press|location=Vancouver|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> This company would eventually produce over 160 Malay films,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=197%20196%20218%20218%20206%20123%20148%2056%20176%20223%20143%20102%20239%20236%20231%20228|title=About Shaw – Malay Film Productions|work=Shaw Online|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> many of them starring and directed by [[P. Ramlee]], until their studio at [[Jalan Ampas]] ceased production in 1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=159%2044%20235%20173%209%20160%20105%20230%2012%20182%2038%20136%2092%20107%2021%2088|title=The Last Days of Malay Film Productions|work=Shaw Online|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.establishmentpost.com/sir-run-run-shaw-man-ushered-golden-age-malay-film-industry|title=Sir Run Run Shaw: The Man Who Ushered the Golden Age of Malay Film Industry|author=Vanitha Nadaraj|date=7 January 2014|work=The Establishment Post|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108010657/http://www.establishmentpost.com/sir-run-run-shaw-man-ushered-golden-age-malay-film-industry/|archive-date=8 January 2014}}</ref> The period between the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1960s is known as the Golden Age of Malay Cinema, with over 300 films made between MFP and [[Cathay Organisation|Cathay Keris]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/tag/golden-age-of-malay-film|title=A night when the stars shone|work=The Long and Winding Road|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=60%20132%20174%2095%2023%2029%20238%20253%20100%2085%2040%205%20246%20152%20129%2074 |title=About Shaw – Malay Film Productions|work=Shaw Online|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> In 1941, the Japanese invaded Singapore and Malaya and confiscated their film equipment. According to Run Run Shaw, he and his brother went into hiding during the war{{Citation needed|reason=Nothing in the NYT obituary about hiding|date=October 2017}} and buried more than $4&nbsp;million in gold, jewellery and cash in their backyard, digging it up after the war and using it to rebuild their business.<ref name="NYT"/>

===Shaw Brothers Studios===

In 1957, Run Run Shaw moved to Hong Kong, which was emerging as the new centre of Chinese-language cinema, and reorganised Tianyi's operations there as Shaw Brothers Studio. Shaw copied [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] by setting up a permanent production site where his actors worked and lived on 46 acres purchased from the government in [[Clearwater Bay]]. At the opening of the Shaw Movietown in December 1961, Shaw Studios had the world's largest privately owned film-production outfit with about 1,200 workers shooting and editing films daily.<ref name="Bloomberg"/> Shaw productions ran up to two hours and cost as much as $50,000, a lavish sum by Asian standards in the 1960s.<ref name="NYT"/>

By the 1960s, Shaw Brothers had become the biggest producer of movies in Asia. Notable films produced by Shaw include director [[Li Han-hsiang]]'s ''[[The Magnificent Concubine]]'', which took the [[Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)|Grand Prix]] at the [[1962 Cannes Film Festival]]; the 1963 blockbuster musical film ''[[The Love Eterne]]'', also directed by Li Han-hsiang; [[King Hu]]'s 1966 pioneering [[wuxia]] film ''[[Come Drink with Me]]''; and [[Chang Cheh]]'s 1967 ''[[The One-Armed Swordsman]]'', which broke box office records.<ref>{{cite news |date=7 January 2014 |title=Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong film pioneer, dies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-25618414 |access-date=2025-03-15 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> His companies in Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong made more than 1,000 movies, with annual production peaking at 50 pictures in 1974 when Shaw was described as the "Czar of Asian Movies".<ref>{{cite news |last=Deutsch |first=Linda |author-link=Linda Deutsch |date=1 May 1974 |title=Run Run Shaw, Czar of Asian Movies |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1913&dat=19740501&id=OgtHAAAAIBAJ&pg=2559,61412 |access-date=17 January 2014 |newspaper=[[Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)|Lewiston Evening Journal]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> The popular nostalgic costume dramas of Shaw Brothers celebrated traditional Chinese values and culture, which was in contrast to the then anti-traditional ideology of [[Communist]] mainland China (particularly during the [[Cultural Revolution]]), but fit with the policy of the Nationalist government of Taiwan and US anti-Communist strategy, while not conflicting with the less provocative approach of the colonial government of Hong Kong.<ref>{{cite book|page=126|title=The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Cinemas |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8F1pAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA126|first1=Carlos|last1=Rojas|first2=Eileen|last2=Chow|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|isbn=9780199988440 }}</ref> Shaw Studios also popularised an early ([[Wuxia]]) variant of [[Martial arts film|kung fu film genre]] that had influence on directors such as [[John Woo]] and [[Quentin Tarantino]].<ref name="abc news"/><ref name="WSJ">{{cite news |last1=Ng |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Ho |first2=Prudence |date=6 January 2014 |title=Hong Kong Media Mogul Dies |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304887104579305330145355604 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-03-15 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>

The studio, which held virtual monopoly of filmmaking in Hong Kong, declined in the 1970s, partly due to competition from [[Orange Sky Golden Harvest|Golden Harvest]] formed by [[Raymond Chow]] and employing many former ex-employees of Shaw that have been dismissed. Golden Harvest came to prominence through [[Bruce Lee]] whom Shaw Brothers had previously turned down. Shaw began to focus his efforts on television.<ref name="Birth date">{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Mark |date=23 November 2007 |title=Film Mogul Run Run Shaw Turns 100, Considers Retiring |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4zRNwIcwwbQ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107044646/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4zRNwIcwwbQ |archive-date=7 January 2014 |work=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref> Shaw also looked for opportunities in the United States and co-produced a handful of US films, including the 1982 sci-fi classic ''[[Blade Runner]]''.<ref name="abc news"/> In 2000, through his company, Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited, he sold his library of 760 classic titles to [[Celestial Pictures]] Limited. Shaw Studios also entered a new era with Shaw's majority investment (through his various holding companies) in the US$180,000,000 Hong Kong Movie City project, a {{convert|1100000|sqft|m2}} studio and production facility in [[Tseung Kwan O]].<ref name="studio">{{cite web|url=http://www.shawstudios.hk/who_we_are.htm|title=Who We are – Shaw Studios|access-date=16 October 2007|work=Shaw Studios|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520093756/http://www.shawstudios.hk/who_we_are.htm|archive-date=20 May 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Television Broadcasts Limited===

In 1967, he co-founded [[TVB]], the first free-to-air television station in Hong Kong, growing it into a multibillion-dollar TV empire with channels broadcast in 30 markets including the US, Canada and Taiwan, making it the world's largest producer of Chinese-language programs. Shaw took a greater interest in TVB after succeeding the deceased Harold Lee as its chairman in 1980. Shaw leased most of Shaw Brothers' filmmaking facilities to TVB in 1983. Under his chairmanship, TVB successfully launched the careers of international stars such as [[Chow Yun-fat]] and [[Maggie Cheung]], singers such as [[Leslie Cheung]] and [[Anita Mui]], and directors like [[Wong Kar-wai]]. In 2006, TVB had 80 percent of Hong Kong's viewers and 78 percent of the city's TV advertising market.<ref name="Birth date"/>

On 31 December 2011, Shaw retired as chairman of Television Broadcasts Ltd. at the age of 104 after more than 40 years at Hong Kong's biggest television company,<ref>{{cite web |last=Tong |first=Stephanie |date=8 December 2011 |title=Run Run Shaw to Retire as Hong Kong TVB Chairman at Age 104 |url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-08/run-run-shaw-to-retire-as-hong-kong-tvb-chairman-at-age-104.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111050832/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-08/run-run-shaw-to-retire-as-hong-kong-tvb-chairman-at-age-104.html |archive-date=11 January 2012 |work=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]}}</ref> after selling his controlling stake to a group of investors including [[HTC Corporation]] chairman [[Cher Wang]] and ITC Corporation chairman Charles Chan for HK$6.26&nbsp;billion in March.<ref name="Bloomberg">{{cite news |last=Chen |first=Lulu Yilun |last2=Lee |first2=Simon |date=6 January 2014 |title=Run Run Shaw, Father of Hong Kong's Movie Industry, Dies |url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-06/run-run-shaw-father-of-hong-kong-s-movie-industry-dies-at-107 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111080325/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-06/run-run-shaw-father-of-hong-kong-s-movie-industry-dies-at-107 |archive-date=11 January 2014 |access-date=2025-03-15 |work=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]}}</ref><ref name="South China">{{cite news |last=Chow |first=Vivienne |date=7 January 2014 |title=Media mogul Run Run Shaw dies |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1399612/media-mogul-run-run-shaw-dies-107 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107140137/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1399612/tributes-legendary-movie-mogul-and-philanthropist-run-run-shaw-dies |archive-date=2014-01-07 |access-date=2025-03-15 |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]}}</ref> He was then named chairman emeritus.<ref name="WSJ"/> Shaw was one of the largest shareholders in [[Macy's]] after buying 10 percent of its preferred shares for US$50&nbsp;million when it was nearly bankrupt in 1991.<ref name="NYT"/>

==Community life==

Shaw was an advocate and financial supporter of the [[Hong Kong Arts Festival]] in which he became the first chairman of the festival. He was also the chairman of the [[Hong Kong Arts Centre]]'s board of governors. He was a member of the board of trustees of [[United College (Hong Kong)|United College]], one of the colleges of the [[Chinese University of Hong Kong]] when the university began in 1967. He became the vice-chairman of the board of trustees in 1972 and was appointed to the University Council of the Chinese University in 1977.<ref name="HKU"/><ref name="CUHK">{{cite web|url=http://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/cong/?q=node/457|title=23rd Congregation (1981) – Sir Run-run SHAW|work=The Chinese University of Hong Kong|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> Other public posts included vice-president of the [[Hong Kong Girl Guides Association]] and the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation. He was also the first Asian president of the [[Hong Kong Red Cross]], and a leading figure in the fund raising of the [[Community Chest of Hong Kong]] since its inception.<ref name="HKU"/>

==Philanthropy==

[[File:香港中文大学逸夫科学大楼-CUHK Shaw Building.jpg|thumb|Run Run Shaw Science Building, [[Chinese University of Hong Kong]]]]

[[File:Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital.JPG|thumb|[[Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital]] in [[Hangzhou]], China]]

Over the years, Shaw donated HK$6.5&nbsp;billion to charities, schools and hospitals in Hong Kong and mainland China through the Sir Run Run Shaw Charitable Trust and the Shaw Foundation,<ref name="funeral"/> including donations of HK$4.75&nbsp;billion to educational institutions in mainland China, which helped to build 6,013 construction projects ranging from primary schools to university libraries.<ref>{{cite news |title=教育部：邵逸夫已向内地教育捐款近47.5亿港币 |trans-title=Chinese Ministry of Education: Run Run Shaw had donated HK$4.75 billion to education in Mainland China |url=http://www.chinanews.com/edu/2014/01-07/5708710.shtml |access-date=8 January 2014 |date=7 January 2014}}</ref> More than 5,000 buildings in China's college campuses bear Shaw's Chinese name, "Yifu", which has become so ubiquitous that many mistake it as a generic name.<ref name="chinadaily"/> [[Shaw College (Hong Kong)|Shaw College]], the fourth constituent college of the [[Chinese University of Hong Kong]], is also named after him, whose donations made the establishment of the college possible.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shaw.cuhk.edu.hk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=12&lang=en |title=History of College |publisher=Shaw College |access-date=11 January 2014}}</ref> His other major donations include 10 million British pounds in 1990 to help establish the Run Run Shaw Institute of Chinese Affairs at [[Oxford University]],<ref name="NYT"/> and US$13&nbsp;million for disaster relief after the [[2008 Sichuan earthquake]].<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter"/>

===Shaw Prize===

In 2002, Shaw established an international award, the [[Shaw Prize]], for scientists in three areas of research, namely [[astronomy]], mathematics, and [[life science|life]] and [[medical science]].<ref>{{cite news |date=6 January 2014 |title=Pioneering movie producer Run Run Shaw dies |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pioneering-movie-producer-run-run-shaw-dies-at-age-107 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107080123/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pioneering-movie-producer-run-run-shaw-dies-at-age-107/ |archive-date=2014-01-07 |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=[[CBS News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> The award is up to US$1&nbsp;million, and the first prize was awarded in 2004.

==Personal life==

He was the sixth of the seven children in the Shaw family, and was nicknamed Uncle Six (''Luk Sook''). His three elder brothers, [[Runje Shaw]], [[Runde Shaw]] and [[Runme Shaw]], were all heads of the Shaw Studio. Runme Shaw, the third elder brother, who co-founded the Shaw Studio with him, died in 1985.

Shaw's first wife was Lily Wong Mee-chun, who died at age 85 in 1987. In 1997, he married [[Mona Fong]] in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]]. A former singer, Mona Fong joined TVB as a procurement manager in 1969 and became the deputy chairman of TVB in 2000.<ref name="who"/><ref name="Bloomberg"/> Shaw had four children with his first wife: sons Vee Meng and Harold, and daughters Violet and Dorothy.<ref name="Bloomberg"/> All of his children studied at Oxford University.<ref name="NYT"/>

Shaw was a lover of [[List of Rolls-Royce motor cars|Rolls-Royce]] limousines<ref name="WSJ"/> and a keen practitioner of [[qigong]].<ref name="South China"/> ''[[Mr. Bean]]'' was reportedly his favourite show.<ref name="Shawman">{{cite news |last=Wong |first=Karen |date=6 October 2007 |title=The Great Shawman Turns 100 |url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=48&art_id=54590&sid=15701123&con_type=3&d_str=20071006&sear_year=2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107091713/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=48&art_id=54590&sid=15701123&con_type=3&d_str=20071006&sear_year=2007 |archive-date=7 January 2014 |access-date=2025-03-16 |newspaper=[[The Standard (Hong Kong)|The Standard]]}}</ref>

==Death==

He died at his residence on 7 January 2014, aged 106, and survived by his four children, nine grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.tvb.com/local/52cb4cbf6db28cc96e000000|title=邵逸夫爵士家中安詳離世 享年107歲|date= 7 January 2014|work=TVB News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=7 January 2014 |title=Run Run Shaw, godfather of kung fu film-making, dies aged 106 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/07/run-run-shaw-godfather-of-kung-fu-film-making-dies-aged-106 |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=[[The Guardian]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> The family did not give the cause of death.<ref name="funeral"/>

His body was transferred from the [[United Christian Hospital]] to the Hong Kong Funeral Home in [[North Point]] on 10 January 2014. Many local leaders attended the funeral that day, including former [[Chief Executive of Hong Kong|chief executive]]s [[Tung Chee-hwa]] and [[Donald Tsang]]. Shaw's remains were brought to the [[Cape Collinson Crematorium]] in [[Chai Wan]] later the same day. [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]] [[Xi Jinping]], former [[Premier of China]] [[Wen Jiabao]] and [[Chairman of the National People's Congress]] [[Zhang Dejiang]] sent messages of respect.<ref name="funeral">{{cite news |last1=Zhao |first1=Shirley |last2=Chan |first2=Samuel |date=10 January 2014 |title=Run Run Shaw's body transferred to crematorium as top leaders pay respects |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1401711/run-run-shaws-body-transferred-crematorium-top-leaders-pay-respects |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113092845/http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1401711/run-run-shaws-body-transferred-crematorium-top-leaders-pay-respects |archive-date=2014-01-13 |access-date=2025-03-15 |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]}}</ref>

==Honours==

In 1964, after their discovery of a small [[main belt]] [[asteroid]] between [[Mars]] and [[Jupiter]], Chinese astronomers at the [[Purple Mountain Observatory]] named it "[[2899 Runrun Shaw]]" in Shaw's honour.<ref>{{cite news |author=Corliss |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Corliss |date=7 January 2014 |title=Run Run Shaw: The Last Emperor of Chinese Movies |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/07/run-run-shaw-the-last-emperor-of-chinese-movies/ |access-date=8 January 2014 |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref>

In 1974, Shaw was appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE). He received a [[Knight Bachelor|knighthood]] in 1977 from [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and the [[Grand Bauhinia Medal]] (GBM) from the Hong Kong government in 1998.<ref>{{cite news |author=Chow |first=Vivienne |date=7 January 2013 |title=Tributes as legendary movie mogul and philanthropist Run Run Shaw dies |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1399612/tributes-legendary-movie-mogul-and-philanthropist-run-run-shaw-dies |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=[[South China Morning Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 47500
| date = 28 March 1978
| page = 3787
| title = State Intelligence – Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
}}</ref>

He was awarded an honorary degree of [[Doctor of Social Science]] by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1981 for his contribution to the university and community.<ref name="CUHK"/> In 1984, he was awarded an honorary degree of [[Doctor of Laws]] by the University of Hong Kong to honour an outstanding contribution to applied visual arts, as well as to the community and cultural developments.<ref name="HKU"/>

In 2007, coinciding with his 100th birthday, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the [[Hong Kong Film Awards]].<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter"/>

In 2013, Shaw received the [[BAFTA]] Special Award for his outstanding contribution to cinema.<ref name="bafta.org">{{cite news |date=3 December 2013 |title=BAFTA in Hong Kong: New Scholarships Announced Sir Run Run Shaw to Receive Special Award |url=http://www.bafta.org/press/bafta-in-hong-kong-new-scholarships-announced-sir-run-run-shaw-to-receive-special-award,305,SNS.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207155939/http://www.bafta.org/press/bafta-in-hong-kong-new-scholarships-announced-sir-run-run-shaw-to-receive-special-award,305,SNS.html |archive-date=2013-12-07 |access-date=3 December 2013 |work=BAFTA}}</ref>

==In popular culture==

Portrayed by [[Douglas Lim]] in ''P. Ramlee The Musical''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chua |first1=Dennis |date=8 October 2014 |title=Back with a bang |url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/09/back-bang |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=[[New Straits Times]] |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Shaw Professor of Chinese]]
* [[2899 Runrun Shaw|Asteroid 2899 Runrun Shaw]]
* Brothers [[Runje Shaw]], [[Runme Shaw]] and [[Runde Shaw]]
* [[Cinema of Hong Kong]]
* [[List of centenarians (businesspeople)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==

* {{Cite book |author=詹幼鵬、藍潮 |year=1997 |script-title=zh:《邵逸夫傳》|edition=First |series=藍潮傳記作品 |location=Hong Kong |publisher=名流出版社 |language=zh |isbn=962-928-017-5 |oclc=38070397}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=George Chun Han |date=2010 |title=King Hu and Run Run Shaw: The Clash of Two Cinema Legends |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1386/jcc.4.2.127_1 |url-access=subscription |journal=Journal of Chinese Cinemas |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=127–142 |doi=10.1386/jcc.4.2.127_1|hdl=10125/27108 |s2cid=161358221 |hdl-access=free }} At [https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/8abd4d3f-e987-46ab-8fb6-8c00ba79015c ScholarSpace].

==External links==

{{Commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0789957}}
*[http://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=13230&display_set=eng Sir Run Run Shaw] at the Hong Kong Movie Database
*[http://www.tvb.com/ TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited)]
*[http://www.shawstudios.hk/ Shaw Studios]
*[http://www.shawprize.org/ Shaw Prize]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bus}}
{{s-bef|before=Harold Lee}}
{{s-ttl|title=Executive Chairman of [[TVB]]|years=1980–2010}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mona Fong]]}}
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{{Portal bar|China|Biography}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Run Run}}
[[Category:Run Run Shaw| ]]
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Hong Kong philanthropists]]
[[Category:Billionaires from Zhejiang]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Ningbo]]
[[Category:Chinese men centenarians]]
[[Category:Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Chinese film producers]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Hong Kong Affairs Advisors]]
[[Category:Hong Kong billionaires]]
[[Category:Hong Kong Buddhists]]
[[Category:Hong Kong men centenarians]]
[[Category:Hong Kong film producers]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Grand Bauhinia Medal]]
[[Category:Shaw Brothers Studio]]
[[Category:TVB]]