Overview
Sir Run Run Shaw was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China and raised in mainland China, but received his education in -run schools. He is one of the six sons of Shanghai textile merchant Shaw Yuh Hsuen .
At age 19, during his summer vacation, he followed his third elder brother Run Me Shaw to Singapore to start a film market and establish 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 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.
His wife died at age 85 in 1987.
Shaw Studios stopped filming in the same year. He remarried in in 1997 to Mona Shaw .
In 2000, through his company, Shaw Brothers 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 in the US$180 million Hong Kong Movie City project, a studio and production facility. The facility features one of the largest, fully air-conditioned and sound and vibration-insulated soundstages in Asia, a full-service color 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 center-piece of Shaw Studios and indeed the whole Chinese film industry as a whole moving forward.
Sir Run Run Shaw holds significant other business interests around the world. His construction of the 23-story Shaw Tower at Cathedral Place located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is just one example of his real estate interests.
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.
He donated $100 million Hong Kong Dollars for disaster relief after the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake.
Awards
In 1974, he was awarded the . He received his in 1977 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal from the Hong Kong Special Administration government in 1998.
The Shaw Prize
He recently established an international award, the Shaw Prize, for scientists in three areas of research, namely astronomy, mathematics, and and medical science. The award is up to 1 million. The press called it the "Nobel Prize of the East". The first prize was awarded in 2004.
Children
Shaw's eldest son, Dr. Shaw Vee Meng, is head of the Shaw Foundation in Singapore. Shaw graduated as a barrister-at-law 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.
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