| The Honourable Sir Run Run Shaw GBM, CBE |
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| Chinese name | 邵逸夫 | ||||
| Pinyin | Shào Yìfū (Mandarin) | ||||
| Jyutping | siu6 jat6 fu1 (Cantonese) | ||||
| Birth name | Shaw Ren Leng (邵仁楞) | ||||
| Origin | Hong Kong | ||||
| Born | approx. November 23, 1907 [1] Ningbo, Zhejiang, Great Qing Empire of China |
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| Other name(s) | Uncle Six (Luk Suk) (六叔) | ||||
| Occupation | TV producer | ||||
| Spouse(s) | Wong Mei Chun (1937-1987) Mona Fong (1997-) |
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| Children | Shaw Vee Meng (邵維銘) Shaw So Man (邵素雯) Shaw So Wan (邵素雲) Shaw Vee Chung (邵維鍾) |
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| Parents | Shaw Yuh Hsuen (邵行銀) | ||||
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Sir Run Run Shaw CBE, GBM (born c. November 23, 1907) is a Hong Kong media mogul.
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Sir Run Run Shaw was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China in 1907. There has been no official or formal announcement on the exact day and month of his birth. According to A&C Black published Who's Who 2007, Shaw Run Run was born on 14 October, but his wife Mona Fong declined to confirm this.[2] In 2007, Markus Shaw, Run Run's nephew, said his birthday was November 23, which corresponded with the 14th day of the 10th month of the Chinese calendar.[1]
He received his education in American-run schools. He is the youngest of the six sons of Shanghai textile merchant Shaw Yuh Hsuen (1867–1920).[3]
At age 19, during his summer holiday, he followed his third elder brother Runme Shaw to Singapore to start a film market and establish the Shaw Organisation. Following that, he developed a deep interest in the movie business. He and his brother founded the South Seas Film studio in 1930, which later became Shaw Studios. In 1967, he launched TVB (Television Broadcasts Ltd.) in Hong Kong, growing it into a multi-billion dollar TV empire ranking today as one of the top 5 television producers in the world.
| Run Run Shaw | |||||||||||||||||
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| Shaw's star on the Avenue of Stars | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 邵逸夫 | ||||||||||||||||
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His first wife Wong Mei Chun (黃美珍) died at age 85 in 1987. Shaw Studios stopped filming in the same year. He remarried in Las Vegas in 1997 to Mona Shaw (formerly Fong Yat-wa and deputy chairman of TVB since 2000).[3]
In 2000, through his company, Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited, he sold his unique library of 760 classic titles to Celestial Pictures Limited. His name is credited even in western movies which he has backed, such as in Blade Runner under the The Ladd Company logo.
Continuing to show perseverance, Shaw Studios entered a new era with Run Run Shaw's majority investment (through his various holding companies) in the US$180 million Hong Kong Movie City project, a 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) studio and production facility in Tseung Kwan O (Hong Kong). The facility features one of the largest, fully air-conditioned and sound and vibration-insulated soundstages in Asia, a full-service colour lab and digital imaging facility, over 20 sound and editing suites, a 400-seat dubbing and screening theatre, executive and production office space, banqueting facilities, and visual effects and animation capabilities. This facility serves as the centre-piece of Shaw Studios and indeed the whole Chinese film industry.[4]
Over the years, he has donated billions of dollars to charity, schools and hospitals. His name is on many buildings in Hong Kong and China mainland due to his generous donations. The fourth constituent college of the collegiate Chinese University of Hong Kong is also named after Sir Run Run, whose patronage made the establishment of the college possible.[5]
He donated $100 million Hong Kong Dollars for disaster relief after the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. American singer/songwriter Is'real Benton recently made a contribution to a charity on behalf of Shaw and his friend the late Freddie Fields.
Sir Run Run is a member of White's in London.
In 1974, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He received a knighthood in 1977 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal (GBM) from the Hong Kong Special Administration government in 1998.
He recently established an international award, the Shaw Prize, for scientists in three areas of research, namely astronomy, mathematics, and life and medical science. The award is up to US$1 million. The press called it the "Nobel Prize of the East". The first prize was awarded in 2004.
Shaw's eldest son, Dr. Shaw Vee Meng, is head of the Shaw Foundation in Singapore. He qualified as a barrister at Gray's Inn, London. He has been in the family's movie business and heads a number of academic and charitable organizations.
Shaw's daughter, Violet, lives in Hawaii and is married to former Morgan Stanley Executive Director Paul Loo.
| Business positions | ||
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| Preceded by Harold Lee (利孝和) |
Executive Chairman of Television Broadcasts Limited 1980 - 2010 |
Succeeded by Mona Fong |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Ng Hong-mun Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal |
Hong Kong order of precedence Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal |
Succeeded by Wong Po-yan Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal |