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Robert Shaw: The Price of Success
A biography of Robert Shaw told from the inside by the man who was his agent. Married with three children, he ran off with John Osborne's wife and had four more by her. The book also looks at Shaw's attempted overdose on the eve of the inquest into Mary Ure's suicide.
- GenresBiography
274 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 1992
18 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
John French
160 books8 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 15, 2017
John French was Robert Shaw's agent for the last few years of Shaw's life, so he is the ideal person to write with (at least some) inside knowledge of this fine actor. Shaw has given some great screen performances, my favourites being in From Russia With Love, Jaws & The Taking Of Pelham 123. However, this book covers his theatre work, of which I knew littlle & his writing, of which I knew nothing. Although he made some poor decisions during his career his talent was undoubtedly vast. Unfortunately as a person he does come across (to me at least) as a bit of a prick. This book has not chnaged the fact that I will always enjoy his performances, but his personality leaves a lot to be desired.
October 2, 2024
A book I enjoyed, but understand many will not enjoy the book as I did, due to the author and to Robert Shaw the personality.
I think most people will agree he was quite a difficult person, aggressive, rude, arrogant, he could have been a major star, but bad choices, bad attitude, large ego, and of course a rough personality, I am sure he lost good film roles, as he wanted his name first above the title.
The book shows very strongly timing, choices, decisions, attitude, drinking, relationships, money problems, even in the last few years, made more money, but spent more, and bad choices of films roles, not one successful film after Jaws.
Robert Shaw was a talented and celebrated actor and an Oscar-nominated star in movies like From Russia with Love, A Man For All Seasons, The Sting and - most memorably of all - as Quint in the record-breaking Jaws, his best role.
His breakthrough came when Hollywood was experiencing something of a British Invasion. Sean Connery, Peter O'Toole, Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Burton were among the new stars. But Shaw was arguably more talented than any, a figure of extraordinary and wide-ranging promise. More than just a mesmerising actor on stage and screen, he was also a gifted writer. He wrote no less than six published novels (winning the Hawthornden Prize), while his plays include the acclaimed Man in The Glass Booth. The flipside to Shaw's diverse abilities was his well-earned reputation as a hellraiser.
A fiercely competitive man in all areas of his life, whether playing table tennis or drinking whisky, he emptied mini-bars, crashed Aston Martins, fathered nine children by three different women, made (and spent) a fortune, and set fire to Orson Welles' house. He died at 51, having driven himself too hard, too fast, but unable to get over his father's suicide when Shaw was just 11.
John French, Shaw's biographer, knew him well, as he was his agent in the later years of Shaw's life, professionally and personally. Robert Shaw: The Price of Success is a perceptive, sympathetic, but unsparing portrait of the blessings and curses endowing this mercurial, enigmatic and deeply engaging man, also a tormented character, aggressive and a wild personality and a drinker.
This edition features a new foreword written by Richard Dreyfuss.
I think most people will agree he was quite a difficult person, aggressive, rude, arrogant, he could have been a major star, but bad choices, bad attitude, large ego, and of course a rough personality, I am sure he lost good film roles, as he wanted his name first above the title.
The book shows very strongly timing, choices, decisions, attitude, drinking, relationships, money problems, even in the last few years, made more money, but spent more, and bad choices of films roles, not one successful film after Jaws.
Robert Shaw was a talented and celebrated actor and an Oscar-nominated star in movies like From Russia with Love, A Man For All Seasons, The Sting and - most memorably of all - as Quint in the record-breaking Jaws, his best role.
His breakthrough came when Hollywood was experiencing something of a British Invasion. Sean Connery, Peter O'Toole, Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Burton were among the new stars. But Shaw was arguably more talented than any, a figure of extraordinary and wide-ranging promise. More than just a mesmerising actor on stage and screen, he was also a gifted writer. He wrote no less than six published novels (winning the Hawthornden Prize), while his plays include the acclaimed Man in The Glass Booth. The flipside to Shaw's diverse abilities was his well-earned reputation as a hellraiser.
A fiercely competitive man in all areas of his life, whether playing table tennis or drinking whisky, he emptied mini-bars, crashed Aston Martins, fathered nine children by three different women, made (and spent) a fortune, and set fire to Orson Welles' house. He died at 51, having driven himself too hard, too fast, but unable to get over his father's suicide when Shaw was just 11.
John French, Shaw's biographer, knew him well, as he was his agent in the later years of Shaw's life, professionally and personally. Robert Shaw: The Price of Success is a perceptive, sympathetic, but unsparing portrait of the blessings and curses endowing this mercurial, enigmatic and deeply engaging man, also a tormented character, aggressive and a wild personality and a drinker.
This edition features a new foreword written by Richard Dreyfuss.
February 2, 2018
Very disappointing. More about the processes of getting a movie made, staging a play, and avoiding taxes.
January 25, 2020
I would expect that the author being Robert's agent should have known that Quint was talking about the USS Indianapolis not Philadelphia. Was this proof read? Robert Redford is called Bedford at least twice. What other inaccuracies are in here that we would not find so obvious?
May 9, 2019
A fascinating book about an immensely talented but difficult and not very likeable man. (It is hard to warm to a man who seems to have used 'boy' as his common form of address to other males.)
It is often frustratingly short on detail about Shaw's acting, either film or stage - on the other hand if you want to know about his marital complexities, his tax affairs or the prices he paid for expensive cars you have come to the right shop. The title 'The Price of Success' is literally true - we learn a lot about Shaw's relationship with his accountants.
(Actually the details of what it meant to be an artistic tax exile in the late 1960s and 1970s are really quite fascinating, as are the details of the finer points of 'billing' - important given Shaw's absurdly competitive personality.)
Considering the book's relative neglect of Shaw's acting and its sometimes mercenary tone it is surprisingly good on his now largely forgotten writing career - it is odd to think that Shaw was considered one of the really important novelists of the 1960s, given that his novels are comprehensively out-of-print, and not even considered rare or collectible. Surely it is time for a reevaluation of his novels...
It is often frustratingly short on detail about Shaw's acting, either film or stage - on the other hand if you want to know about his marital complexities, his tax affairs or the prices he paid for expensive cars you have come to the right shop. The title 'The Price of Success' is literally true - we learn a lot about Shaw's relationship with his accountants.
(Actually the details of what it meant to be an artistic tax exile in the late 1960s and 1970s are really quite fascinating, as are the details of the finer points of 'billing' - important given Shaw's absurdly competitive personality.)
Considering the book's relative neglect of Shaw's acting and its sometimes mercenary tone it is surprisingly good on his now largely forgotten writing career - it is odd to think that Shaw was considered one of the really important novelists of the 1960s, given that his novels are comprehensively out-of-print, and not even considered rare or collectible. Surely it is time for a reevaluation of his novels...
November 18, 2025
It was hard to keep up with all of Robert Shaw’s activities, travels, agents, etc. as he was all over the place in every facet of his life. He was deeply flawed and completely undisciplined who never seemed to get over the loss of his father. That depression and his ultra competitive nature and undisciplined lifestyle was ultimately his undoing.
I became interested in Robert Shaw after his tremendous performance as Quint in Jaws. That movie catapulted him to stardom but what should have been the best part of his life became a spiral downhill descent due to the fact he was his own worst enemy.
I enjoyed the book though as previously stated in other reviews the editing seemed to be nonexistent. Quint survived The USS Indianapolis, not the Philadelphia. Words were routinely misspelled (recognise instead of recognize for example) so at times throughout the book it seemed like things were just thrown together).
That said, the biography was a detailed account of a very eccentric and domineering personality who lived life to the fullest and burned both ends of the candle which ultimately shortened his life considerably.
I became interested in Robert Shaw after his tremendous performance as Quint in Jaws. That movie catapulted him to stardom but what should have been the best part of his life became a spiral downhill descent due to the fact he was his own worst enemy.
I enjoyed the book though as previously stated in other reviews the editing seemed to be nonexistent. Quint survived The USS Indianapolis, not the Philadelphia. Words were routinely misspelled (recognise instead of recognize for example) so at times throughout the book it seemed like things were just thrown together).
That said, the biography was a detailed account of a very eccentric and domineering personality who lived life to the fullest and burned both ends of the candle which ultimately shortened his life considerably.
August 22, 2023
I was interested in knowing more about Shaw after watching a few of his Harold Pinter plays and seeing him in films, the book is interesting but unfortunately focuses more on how movies are made and how actors avoided tax, was looking for a more in-depth look into Shaw psyche, but this wasn't really that. There are also quite a lot of errors, it's clearly been poorly proof read.
I also think the writer should've set aside his obvious dislike for Shaw, obviously Shaw doesn't sound like a very nice character, but the book might have had less bias to show this. Sometimes it was frustrating, with obvious inaccuracies, at one point the writer writes that after Shaw moved to Ireland it all went down hill in terms of career. But that couldn't be true considering this was when he made "The Taking of Pelham one two three" and "Jaws" ?
I also think the writer should've set aside his obvious dislike for Shaw, obviously Shaw doesn't sound like a very nice character, but the book might have had less bias to show this. Sometimes it was frustrating, with obvious inaccuracies, at one point the writer writes that after Shaw moved to Ireland it all went down hill in terms of career. But that couldn't be true considering this was when he made "The Taking of Pelham one two three" and "Jaws" ?
June 21, 2023
I was aware of previous reviews of this biography, most of them being negative. I can certainly understand the reasons!
Robert Shaw is an outstanding actor, one of the greatest to emerge during the late 1950s. I wanted to know something about the man, so I bought John French's biography.
It made for tough reading: the manuscript is full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. With Robert Shaw being a writer of some repute, I dread to imagine his reaction to reading such a mess! French doesn't seem to like his own subject, considering he portrays him in a negative light for the most part. Such a disappointment!
The only other Robert Shaw biography, is "More Than a Life." Alas, this one is long out-of-print and considerably expensive.
Robert Shaw is an outstanding actor, one of the greatest to emerge during the late 1950s. I wanted to know something about the man, so I bought John French's biography.
It made for tough reading: the manuscript is full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. With Robert Shaw being a writer of some repute, I dread to imagine his reaction to reading such a mess! French doesn't seem to like his own subject, considering he portrays him in a negative light for the most part. Such a disappointment!
The only other Robert Shaw biography, is "More Than a Life." Alas, this one is long out-of-print and considerably expensive.
October 8, 2017
This biography is carefully researched and crafted to tell the story of Robert Shaw; the man, husband, father, actor and writer. We remember him vividly if we have seen his films but this is another story (well told) of a gifted individual shaped by a childhood he never entirely escaped. As successful as he became the book leaves us wondering how successful he might have been. I would have loved to have seen more about him from the perspective of others, particularly his surviving wife, and his children. Well worth investigating for fans of quality writing about the lives of creative people.
May 20, 2020
May be the worst book I have ever read. Poorly written. The author seems to really not like the subject at all. Apparently he was fired by Shaw. Author doesn't deal with Shaw's film successes just blows right by them and yet when he fails French goes on and on. Not one single positive thing in this mans life was discussed or examined. Horrible. There is another biography n of Shaw out there. It isn't great either but better than this.
July 11, 2021
Great biography of a great actor who squandered his talents. He could have been up there with the likes of Burton and O'Toole but seemed to be distracted by too many irons in the fire; novel writing, play writing, screenplays and of course acting. Also beset by money and legal problems topped off with out of control drinking. After his finest performance as Quint in Jaws he choose his next six films poorly and then was gone.
April 16, 2021
After reading this book I found the actor Robert Shaw to be quite an unpleasant nasty man.the read is a bit boring his life was all about money and getting drunk and he seemed such a rude man. Not a Robert Shaw fan.
March 18, 2016
A decent biography of the actor by the man who was his agent during the '70s. French knew all the ins and outs of his finances and there's quite a lot of detail about his earnings, the cost of his many cars and the various methods he adopted to avoid paying tax. Shaw was extremely competitive and became a severe alcoholic, but he had his good points too, being genuinely free of snobbery and faithful to his wives (well, almost). He comes across as shockingly cold when his second wife, actress Mary Ure, dies, although it's probable that he was just not given to public displays of emotion and felt it deeply inside. French is also good on his writing, which is often overlooked. It's ultimately a tragic story, though, and if there's a lesson here, it's that having a ton of money really won't bring you happiness.
November 3, 2015
Very good biography, written by someone who knew Robert Shaw personally. Best known as Quint in "Jaws" or as one of James Bond's opponents in "From Russia With Love", Shaw had much greater talents as an actor and writer than many people might know. However he was, apparently, a tortured spirit, always driven to compete, and haunted by his alcoholic father's suicide. Sadly he also started drinking too much and died of a heart attack at the age of 51. I found this an excellent biography which left you with the feeling of a great talent that burned out too soon.
April 24, 2016
An ultimately tragic story of a hugely-talented man whose life was destroyed by childhood trauma and drink.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews