The Late Great Russell Johnson

Russell Johnson, best known for playing The Professor on the classic American sitcom Gilligan's Island, died today at the age of 89. The cause was kidney failure.

Russell Johnson was born on 10 November 1924 near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. After his father died when he was ten Mr. Johnson's mother sent him and his brothers to the Girard College, a private boarding school for orphaned children, in Philadelphia. During World War II he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force as an aviation cadet. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant, and served as both a bombardier and a navigator aboard B-24 bombers. Wounded when his B-24 was shot down over Zamboanga City, Philippines, he was awarded the Purple Heart. He also received the Air Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three service stars, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one service star, and the World War II Victory Medal. On 22 November 1945 he was honourably discharged with the rank of first lieutenant.

Following World War II Russell Johnson attended the Actors’ Laboratory in Los Angeles, California. He made his television debut in 1950 in an episode of Fireside Theatre. In the Fifties he was a regular on the Western TV series Black Saddle, playing Marshall Gib Scott. He also guest starred on such shows as Adventures of Superman, King's Row, The Lone Ranger, Climax, Medic, Circus Boy, Lux Video Theatre, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Lawman, and Riverboat. He made his film debut in For Men Only (1952). During the decade he appeared in such films as Loan Shark (1952), Rancho Notorious (1952), Seminole (1953), It Came from Outer Space (1953), Black Tuesday (1954), This Island Earth (1955), Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), Rock All Night (1957), and Courage of Black Beauty (1957).

In 1963 Russell Johnson was cast in the role of The Professor (whose given name was Roy Hinkley) on Gilligan's Island. The show was a hit and was still getting good ratings when it was cancelled after three years to make room for Gunsmoke (which had just been saved from the axe by CBS chairman William Paley himself). It went onto to be one of the most phenomenally successful syndicated reruns of all time. In the Sixties he also guest starred on such shows as  Thriller,  The Twilight Zone, The Deputy, The Detectives, Route 66, Tales of Wells Fargo, Ben Casey, Wagon Train, Rawhide, 77 Sunset Strip, The Big Valley, and Lassie. He appeared in the films A Distant Trumpet (1964), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and Cry for Poor Wally (1969).

In the Seventies Mr. Johnson was a semi-regular on Owen Marshall, Counsellor at Law. He provided the voice of The Professor on the Saturday morning cartoon The New Adventures of Gilligan. He also reprised the role of The Professor in the reunion movies Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978) and The Castaways on Gilligan's Island (1979). He guest starred on such shows as Marcus Welby M.D., Ironside, Gunsmoke, Hawkins, Cannon, McMillan and Wife, Police Story, Wonder Woman, and Lou Grant. He appeared in the films The Man from Independence (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and The Great Skycopter Rescue (1980).

In the Eighties he provided the voice of The Professor for the Saturday morning cartoon Gilligan's Planet and reprised the role for the reunion movie The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981). He guest starred on such shows as Bosom Buddies, The Jeffersons, Buffalo Bill, Dallas, MacGyver, Fame, Newhart, ALF (on which he reprised his role as The Professor), Knot's Landing, and My Two Dads. He appeared in the films Off the Wall (1983) and Blue Movies (1988).

In the Nineties he guest starred on Roseanne (reprising his role as The Professor) and Meego (again reprising his role as The Professor). He provided the voice of General Cho for the video game Hellbender.

There can be no doubt that Russell Johnson is best known for his role as The Professor on Gilligan's Island. And I think most fans of classic television would agree that he was very good in the role. Among castaways for whom intelligence (or at least common sense) was often at a premium, The Professor was the one who was always smart. Indeed, I think in many respects The Professor was an important character in television history. Not only was he intelligent, but he was also reasonably handsome. In an era when scientifically inclined, intelligent characters were often very old men or extremely nerdy, The Professor demonstrated that a character could be both intelligent and good looking. This might not seem important now, but it was probably an important thing for many intelligent little boys who grew up watching the show to know.

Of course, Russell Johnson's career was much more than The Professor. Indeed, he was a very prolific actor on television and played in a variety of roles. He appeared frequently on the Western television shows so prevalent in the Sixties, often in roles as unlike The Professor as possible. He could be very convincing as both outlaws or lawmen. In the Fifties Mr. Johnson also appeared frequently in films. There he could also be found in roles that were very different from The Professor. Indeed, in one of his earliest roles, in the film Loan Shark (1952), he played a vicious heavy named Charlie Thompson. In the film Back at the Front he played a smuggler. Not only did Russell Johnson play a wide variety of roles, but he also appeared in a number of different genres. During his film career he appeared in everything from films noirs to Westerns to science fiction films. And while he may be best known for his work in Western TV shows outside of Gilligan's Island, he appeared on television shows as varied as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Route 66. Although Russell Johnson is best known as The Professor on Gilligan's Island, his career consisted of so much more. 

Holy Digital Video Disk, Batman! The Classic Sixties Series Finally Comes to DVD

Earlier today comedian and talk show host Conan O'Brien leaked the news that fans of the Sixties TV show Batman have been waiting to hear for years. Quite simply, Warner Brothers Home Entertainment will be releasing the complete series on DVD later this year. Mr. O'Brien's tweet was later confirmed as true by both Warner Brothers Home Entertainment and DC Comics. In some respects the timing of the DVD's release could not be more fitting, as 2014 will mark the 75th anniversary of the Caped Crusader.

For many it must have seemed as if Batman would never reach DVD. Quite simply, the show has been at the centre of a legal struggle between 20th Century Fox (who produced the show) and Warner Brothers (whose parent company, Time Warner, owns DC Comics and hence the character of Batman) for years. The Sixties series Batman came about in 1965 when the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) approached 20th Century Fox about producing a TV programme based on the comic book character Batman (who was owned by National Periodical Publications, now known as DC Comics). 20th Century Fox then turned to producer William Dozier and his company Greenway Productions to actually produce the show. Batman debuted on 12 January 1966 and became an outright fad. The fad eventually burned itself out, but not before the show had run two and a half seasons with a total of 120 episodes.

In 1967, while Batman was still on the air, National Periodical Publications was bought by Kinney National Company. It was in 1969 that Kinney National Company bought Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. It was in 1971 that Kinney National Company divested itself of its assets unrelated to entertainment and renamed itself Warner Communications. The end result was that Warner Communications now owned National Periodical Publications (who officially renamed itself DC Comics in 1977 after decades of being known informally by that name), as well as all of its characters. Of course, in 1990 Warner Communications would merge with Time Inc. to become Time Warner.

Given the fact that Batman was produced by both 20th Century Fox and William Dozier's Greenway Productions for ABC, the rights for the television show were probably complicated to begin with. The fact that the characters portrayed on the show were owned by yet another entity (DC Comics, which is owned by Time Warner) would only complicate matters even more. It should be no surprise that a struggle over rights would then ensue between the companies who own the actual footage for the TV show and the company who owns the characters.

Of course, given the apparent entanglements for rights over the TV series, it must seem odd that the 1966 feature film spun off from the show has long been out on DVD. It was first released on DVD in 2001 and then released on Blu-Ray and re-released on DVD in  2008. It seems possible that the rights issues regarding the film were more easily resolved than those pertaining to the TV series. Indeed, at the very least ABC would have no rights to the feature film, reducing the number of companies involved to three (20th Century Fox, Greenway Productions, and Time-Warner).

Regardless of why Batman has been kept off DVD for so long, today's news is very good for fans of Sixties television. The television series has maintained a large following over the years and, even after several more serious movies featuring the character, it remains one of the most popular interpretations of the Caped Crusader. Now if only The Beatles cartoon would only be released on DVD....

Frank Marth R.I.P.

Frank Marth, a veteran television character actor who appeared on shows from The Honeymooners to The A-Team, died on 12 January 2014 at the age of 91.

Frank Marth was born on 29 July 1922 in New York City. He made his television debut in 1949 in an episode of the TV series Mama. It was in 1951 that he first worked with comedian Jackie Gleason, the two of them appearing on the TV programme Cavalcade of Stars. Mr. Marth would go onto play various roles in both "The Honeymooners" segments of The Jackie Gleason Show and the sitcom based on them, The Honeymooners. In the Fifties Mr. Marth also appeared on such shows as The Philco-Goodyear Playhouse, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Man Against Crime, Suspense, Inner Sanctum, Dragnet, The Alcoa Hour, Studio One, The Phil Silvers Show, and Decoy. He appeared in the film Fright (1956).

In the Sixties Mr. Marth appeared in the films Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), Madame X (1966), Madigan (1968), Pendulum (1969), The Lost Man (1969),  and Marooned (1969). He regularly appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show. He appeared on such shows as Naked City, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Nurses, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Patty Duke Show, Arrest and Trial, The Great Adventure, The Defenders, My Favourite Martian, Mr. Novak, Slattery's People, Perry Mason, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Combat!, The Fugitive, Daktari, The Green Hornet, Garrison's Gorillas, The Wild Wild West, Run for Your Life, The Big Valley, The Virginian, Hogan's Heroes, Hawaii Five-O, Here's Lucy, Bonanza, and Mission: Impossible.

In the Seventies Mr. Marth appeared on such shows as Marcus Welby, M.D., Owen Marshall--Counsellor at Law, The F.B.I., Mod Squad, Mannix, Ironside, Hawkins, Shaft, The Rookies, Gunsmoke, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, M*A*S*H, Cannon, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Lou Grant, and The Incredible Hulk.He appeared in the film Telefon.

In the Eighties Frank Marth appeared on several episodes of the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He also a regular on The Dirty Dozen: The Series. He appeared on such shows as Trapper John, M.D., Vega$, Dallas, Simon & Simon, The Fall Guy, Airwolf,  and The A-Team. He last appeared on screen in the film Loving Deadly.

Frank Marth spent most of his career playing police officers and detectives. From The Honeymooners to The F. B.I. to Cannon, Mr. Marth played a variety of cops. Even on Westerns such as The Big Valley he was often cast as a sheriff or marshal. There can be no argument that he was not good at playing officers of law. That having been said, he was actually a very versatile actor who could play nearly any role handed him. He played several military officers over the years, in everything from The Wild Wild West to M*A*S*H. He also played a medical doctor on more than one occasion. And while Frank Marth played wide array of cops, he often played roles that were on the other side of the law. Indeed, in The Honeymooners episode "Trapped" he played a bank robber. Frank Marth was one of television's great character actors. And while he played many authority figures, he was capable of playing much more.

What's In A Name: Stars Who Lost Their Screen Names

The adoption of stage names among actors has long a history, dating back centuries. Today no one recognises the name of 17th Century playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, but they might well recognise his stage name, "Molière". With the advent of film the practice of adopting a stage name continued unabated, and it seems likely that the majority of stars of the Golden Age of Film acted under names other than their given names or legal names.

In the Golden Age of Film the reasons for adopting a stage name varied a great deal. Often it was a case of an actor's given name being difficult to remember, hard to pronounce or spell (or both), or simply not sounding very good. There can be little wonder that  Rodolfo Guglielmi  adopted the stage name "Rudolph Valentino". Quite simply, many Americans had difficulty pronouncing his given surname, let alone spelling it. Other times an actor might adopt a stage name to avoid discrimination due to their ethnicity.  Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Cansino.  Among other things, she adopted her mother's maiden name of Hayworth at the suggestion of Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn to avoid being typecast in Latin roles.

Of course, not all actors voluntarily adopted stage names in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Often stage names were forced upon them by the studios. Actor Marion Morrison went by his more masculine sounding nickname, "Duke". Unfortunately, he would only be credited as "Duke Morrision" once, in the 1929 film Words and Music. It was director Raoul Walsh and Fox Film Corporation head Winfield Sheehan who decided Duke Morrison's stage name should be "John Wayne". Duke Morrison was not even present when they did so. Archibald Leach at least had some say in choosing his stage name. Mr. Leach had even appeared on Broadway under the name "Archie Leach", but when he signed to Paramount Pictures he was promptly told to change his name. Mr. Leach suggested "Cary Lockwood", the name of the character he had played in the 1931 Broadway production Nikki. An actor named Harry Lockwood was already under contract to the studio, however, so Paramount rejected that name. Archie Leach then chose the surname "Grant" from a list of suggestions the studio kept for actor's stage names. Archie Leach then forever became Cary Grant.

Not surprisingly given the fact that the studios sometimes forced stage names on actors, there have been a few cases in which actors have decided to revert back to their given or legal names. As a child Imogene Rogers was well known for her prowess at baseball. It is for that reason that she earned the nickname "Casey" (from the poem "Casey at the Bat"). She later changed the spelling of her nickname  to "Kasey". While the name "Kasey Rogers" would seem easy to remember, easy to pronounce, and easy to spell, she began her film career at Paramount Pictures as Laura Elliott. And she would have a relatively successful film career using that name. Indeed, it was as Laura Elliott that she played Miriam Joyce, the cheating wife of Guy Haines (Farley Granger) in the Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train (1951).

It was in 1953, when she left Paramount Pictures, that she returned to the name "Kasey Rogers". The name change would have no real impact on her career and she remained a very busy actress, particularly in television. Indeed, she was a regular on the night time soap opera Peyton Place as well as a semi-regular on Bewitched (becoming the second actress to play Louise Tate on the show). Curiously, many people do not realise that Laura Elliott and Kasey Rogers are the same actress. This may simply be because most of her films were made under the name "Laura Elliott" while almost all of her television work she was billed as "Kasey Rogers".

While Kasey Rogers had only been "Laura Elliott" for a few years, there is one, very well known instance of an actress who started using her legal name after fifteen years of using a stage name. Blossom MacDonald was the older sister of actress Jeanette MacDonald. She and her younger sister Jeanette performed on the vaudeville circuit. When she married actor Clarence Rock she took his surname and continued performing on vaudeville "Blossom Rock". Despite the fact that "Blossom Rock" is a very memorable name, when she started making films she was billed by the much more generic and forgettable name "Marie Blake". It was under the name "Marie Blake" that she played numerous bit parts in films. Indeed, it was as Marie Blake that she played what might be her second most famous role, that of Sally the Telephone Operator in MGM's series of "Dr. Kildare" films.

Despite being known as "Marie Blake" for fifteen years, in 1952 Blossom Rock decided to use her legal name professionally. Arguably, Blossom Rock would prove to be more famous than Marie Blake ever had been. While Marie Blake was best known for bit parts in films, Blossom Rock would go onto several guest appearances on television before achieving everlasting fame as Grandmama on the Sixties television show The Addams Family.

While Kasey Rogers and Blossom Rock started their film careers with stage names and then reverted to their given or legal names, there has been at least one instance of an actress who achieved success under her given name, then adopted a stage name, and then returned to her given name. In the Sixties Patricia Harty was an up and coming actress with a promising career. After stints as a dancer on The Perry Como Show, The Pat Boone Show, and The Garry Moore Show, she made her television acting debut on a 1963 episode of Route 66. It was only three years later that she became the star of her own sitcom, Occasional Wife.

Occasional Wife debuted on 13 September 1966 to strong ratings. Unfortunately the ratings would slip early in the 1966-1967 season and would drop even more at mid-season. In the end, NBC chose not to renew the show. Fortunately Patricia Harty would receive a starring role in another sitcom relatively quickly. Unfortunately it would be one of the biggest critical and ratings failures of the Sixties. Blondie, based on the famous comic strip of the same name, debuted on 26 September 1968. Lambasted by critics and avoided by audiences, the ratings for Blondie were so low that predictions of its cancellation were being made as early as November. Indeed, the show left the air on 9 January 1969.

After Blondie Patrica Harty guest starred on The Virginian, Bonanza, Alias Smith and Jones, Love American Style, Medical Centre, and The Odd Couple. She then took a break from acting. When she returned it was with a new stage name. She had two problems when she had used her given name of "Patricia Harty" professionally. One was that people would call her "Pat", a nickname she did not particularly like. Another was that people consistently mispronounced her name as "Hardy". She then adopted the stage name of "Trisha Hart". Of course, it probably didn't hurt that the new name would help distance her from the failures of both Occasional Wife and Blondie.

As it turned out, however, "Trisha Hart" would be no more successful than Patricia Harty had been. As Trisha Hart she did land a lead role in The Bob Crane Show in 1975. Unfortunately it performed badly in the ratings and was cancelled after 13 weeks Given the failure of The Bob Crane Show, it should be little wonder that when Patricia Harty resurfaced on television again in 1982 in a lead role in the sitcom Herbie the Love Bug, she was once more using her given name professionally. Sadly, Herbie the Love Bug would prove no more successful than her previous shows and only lasted five episodes. Afterwards she made guest appearances on several television shows.

Given the studio's habit of forcing actors to adopt stage names, it is surprising that more actors did not eventually revert to their given names. In case of better known actors the reasons for not doing so seem pretty clear. After achieving fame as "Cary Grant", would Archie Leach really want to lose possible box office revenue by insisting on being billed under his given name? Even if a famous actor absolutely hated his or her stage name, then, there would be considerable motivation to continue using it. Of course, today the studio system is long dead and actors are free to choose use a stage name if they wish to. What is more, they can choose a stage name they like.  It is then very doubtful that in years to come very many actors in the future will elect to change their stage names in mid-career.

"Bend It" by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich

It was five years ago today, on 10 January 2009, that Dave Dee of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich died after a long battle with prostate cancer. In memory of Dave Dee, then, I am posting one of my favourite songs by  Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich.

"Bend It" went to #2 on the British singles charts. It also did well in Europe, going to #1 in Germany and Denmark. In Australia it reached #2 on the singles chart.  Unfortunately,  many radio stations in the United States banned the record because of its suggestive lyrics. As a result  Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich recorded a second, less suggestive version and the original version was pulled from record stores. Sadly, this didn't help a whole lot. It only reached #110 on the Billboard singles chart. Regardless, it remains one of  Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich's more popular songs among their American fans.

Here is the original promotional film for "Bend It", filmed at the London Playboy Club. 

Larry D. Mann Passes On

Character actor and voice artist Larry D. Mann died 6 January 2014 at the age of 91. He had recurring roles on the TV shows Shane, Accidental Family, and Hill Street Blues, and made numerous guest appearances on other shows. He had appeared in such films as The Singing Nun (1966),Caprice (1967), and The Sting (1973). He provided voices for several animated TV show and feature films, the most famous of which was probably that of Yukon Cornelius in the perennial Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Larry D. Mann was born in Toronto, Ontario on 18 December 1922. He worked for a time as a disc jockey at the Toronto radio station CHUM before going into acting. He made his television debut as one of the regulars on the CBC children's show Let's See in 1952. He then played the role of Lib in the CBC satirical comedy show Ad and Lib in 1954.He also provided the voice of Captain Scuttlebutt and Flubadub on the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. In 1956 he was a regular on The Barris Beat. In 1958 he was the host of Uncle Chichimus. In 1960 he was the host of Midnight Zone. He provided the voice of Foxy Q. Fibble  on the animated series The New Adventures of Pinocchio. In the Fifties he guest starred on such shows as Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, Cannonball, The Man and the Challenge, Encounter, and The Unforeseen. He made his film debut in Flaming Frontier in 1958.

In the Sixties Larry D. Mann provided the voice of Rusty the Tin Man on the animated series Tales of the Wizard of Oz. He was a regular on the American TV show Shane and a semi-regular on the American show Accidental Family. He provided voices for the Saturday morning cartoons Here Comes the Grump and Sabrina and the Groovy Ghoulies. His most famous work in television during the decade (in fact, perhaps his most famous work of all time) was as the voice of Yukon Cornelius in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which debuted in 1964. He guest starred on such shows as The New Breed, The Gallant Men, The Dakotas, 77 Sunset Strip, Burke's Law, The Big Valley, Honey West, Ben Casey, Run for Your Life, My Favourite Martian, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Get Smart, Captain Nice, The Green Hornet, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., He & She, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Hogan's Heroes, Green Acres, and Bewitched. He appeared in the films The Quick and the Dead (1963), Spencer's Mountain (1963), Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), Harlow (1965), The Singing Nun (1966), The Daydreamer (1966), The Appaloosa (1966), Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966), The Swinger (1966), A Covenant with Death (1967), Caprice (1967), In the Heat of the Night (1967), and Angel in My Pocket (1969). He was the voice of Professor Von Rotten in the animated feature Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965).

In the Seventies Larry D. Mann provided the voices of Crazylegs Crane and The Blue Racer in Depatie-Freleng theatrical cartoons. He appeared in the films Scandalous John (1971), Get to Know Your Rabbit (1972), Cotter (1973), Charley and the Angel (1973), The Sting (1973), Black Eye (1974), Pony Express Rider (1976), and The Octagon (1980). He guest starred on such shows as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Night Gallery, Love American Style, Columbo, and Quincy M.E.

 In the Eighties Mr. Mann appeared in the semi-regular role of Judge Lee Oberman on Hill Street Blues. He provided voices for The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show. He guest starred on such shows as The Dukes of Hazzard, The New Leave It to Beaver, MacGyver, and Equal Justice. His last appearance was in 1991 in a guest appearance on Homefront. Starting in 1981 he appeared for ten years in a series of commercials for Bell Canada as "The Boss".

There can be little doubt that Larry D. Mann was a great character actor. In a career that spanned nearly four decades he played everything from Old West marshals to Army officers to mad scientists to judges. As good as Larry D. Mann was as a character actor, however, he was an even better voice artist. Yukon Cornelius stands as one of the most memorable creations in the history of stop motion animation, largely because of Mr. Mann's voice. What is more, his voice was extremely versatile. Yukon Cornelius sounds nothing like The Blue Racer, Crazylegs Crane, or any of the other many characters Larry D. Mann voiced. There is little wonder Mr. Mann was so prolific as both a character in live action television and film and a voice artist in animation. Few actors were as talented as him.

Godspeed Sir Run Run Shaw

Sir Run Run Shaw, who co-founded the Shaw Brothers Studio and TVB (the first free to air television station in Hong Kong died today, 7 January 2014, at the age of 106.

Sir Run Run Shaw was born Shao Yifu on 23 November 1907. He was the youngest of the six sons of a textile merchant in Shanghai. He attended American run schools in Shanghai. In 1927, at the age of 19, he went to Singapore to work for his older brother Runme Shaw's film distribution and production operation.  After producing several silent films they produced what is largely thought to be the first Chinese talkie, Spring on Stage. In 1937 Run Run Shaw wrote and directed Country Bumpkin Visits his In-Laws, the only film he would write and direct.

Unfortunately for the Shaw Brothers, in 1941 Singapore was invaded by Japan. The Shaw Brothers saw were stripped of their cinemas and the Japanese seized their movie making equipment. Run Run Shaw said that he and his brothers buried gold, jewellery, and money in their backyard in the amount of $4 million for when the war ended. It was then 1957 that the Shaw Brothers founded the Shaw Brothers Studio  in Hong Kong. In 1961 the Shaw Brothers Studio opened a new, state of the art studio complex called Movietown on the Clear Water Bay Peninsula. The Shaw Brothers Studio produced a varied array of films. Their drama The Magnificent Concubine (1962) became the first Chinese language film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival (it won the Grand Prix for Best Interior Photography and Colour). While the studio produced films in a number of genres, however, they would soon become best known for their wuxia films (in English commonly lumped together as "kung fu movies"). Their film One-Armed Swordsman (1967) was a box office smash. Not only was the Shaw Brothers' motion picture production prospering in the Sixties, but by the mid-Sixties they owned over 200 cinemas in Asia and North America.

It was in 1967 that Run Run Shaw founded Television Broadcasts Limited (better known as TVB), the first free to air television station in Hong Kong. It would become the dominant television station in Hong Kong, as well as the largest producer of Chinese language television programmes in the world. In 1970 the Shaw Brothers Studio released Chinese Boxer. The film took a more realistic approach to martial arts than the wuxia films that had preceded it and proved to be a hit at the box officer. It was in 1973 that their film King Boxer (under the title Five Fingers of Death) proved to be a hit in the United States. Along with various other factors it would ignite a kung fu fad in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The Shaw Brothers Studio co-produced The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974) with Hammer Films. It would be released in a mutilated form in the Untied States as The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula.

Unfortunately beginning in the Seventies Shaw Brothers Studio would face increasing competition in the martial arts film market from Golden Harvest. In the late Seventies and Eighties Run Run Shaw served as a producer on the English language films Blood Beach (1980) and Blade Runner (1982). In 1985 Shaw Brothers Studio ceased film production and concentrated entirely on television. Since then the Shaw Brothers Studio has produced only a few films over the years.

Beyond movie making Sir Run Run Shaw was the first chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 1973 and was one of its financial supporters since then. He served on the Board of Trustees of United College (part of the Chinese University of Hong Kong), as well as president of the Hong Kong Red Cross. He was very much a philanthropist, active in fund raising for the Community Chest of Hong Kong  and donating literally billions to various charities, hospitals, and schools. He established the the Shaw Prize for research in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine in 2004. In 1994 he donated 10 million pounds to help found the Run Run Shaw Institute of Chinese Affairs at Oxford University

There can be no doubt of Sir Run Run Shaw's impact on both Hong Kong film making and Hong Kong television. To put things in perspective, he was in many respects the equivalent of such American film moguls as David F. Zanuck and Louis B. Mayer, as well as such television moguls as William S. Paley and David Sarnoff. To say he was one of the most powerful entertainment moguls in the world would be an understatement. It must also be pointed out that Sir Run Run Shaw was largely responsible for the popularity of kung fu films in the Anglosphere. While Golden Harvest made their contributions, it was a Shaw Brothers film that (King Boxer or Five Fingers of Death) was the first kung fu film to be a bona fide hit in the United States. Of course, it must also be pointed out that Sir Run Run Shaw was a philanthropist, contributing billions to various charities, hospitals, relief funds, and schools. Even beyond the films he produced, then, Sir Run Run Shaw made a difference in people's lives.