John Edward Thaw CBE (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor, who made his television début in the military police drama Redcap (1964–1966), and subsequently appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.
Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton, Manchester, to parents John and Dorothy. His...
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John Edward Thaw CBE (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor, who made his television début in the military police drama Redcap (1964–1966), and subsequently appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.
Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton, Manchester, to parents John and Dorothy. His father was a long distance lorry driver. He had a difficult childhood as his mother left him when he was seven years old and he didn't see her again until twelve years later. He had a younger brother called Ray. He grew up in the Burnage area of the city. He attended Ducie Technical High School for Boys in Manchester. He entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the age of 17, where he was a contemporary of Tom Courtenay.
Soon after leaving RADA he made his stage début in A Shred of Evidence at the Liverpool Playhouse and was awarded a...
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