Published : 2026-01-07
On 7 January 2014, Sir Run Run Shaw (邵逸夫), a renowned Hong Kong film producer, co-founder of Shaw Brothers Studio, and philanthropist, passed away at the age of 107.
Run Run Shaw, originally named Shao Renleng (邵仁楞), was born in Zhenhai Town, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, with his ancestral home in Ningbo, Zhejiang.
He was the Honorary Chairman of Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), a co-founder of Shaw Brothers Studio, a member of the Hong Kong Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, and a renowned film producer in Hong Kong.
In 1926, just after graduating from secondary school, Run Run Shaw began to assist his third elder brother, Runme Shaw (邵仁枚), in developing the Singaporean and Malaysian markets in Southeast Asia.
By the late 1930s, the Shaw Organisation owned more than 110 cinemas in Singapore, Malaysia and other places, making them the "King of Film" in Southeast Asia.
In 1957, at the age of 50, Run Run Shaw came to Hong Kong to start a business. A year later, Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited was established.
Film stars who were popular across Asia at the time, such as Butterfly Wu (胡蝶), Ruan Lingyu (阮玲玉), Li Lihua (李麗華), Linda Lin Dai (林黛), and Ivy Ling Po (凌波), were all discovered by the Shaw studio.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Shaw Brothers Studio produced more than 1,000 films. In 1971, Run Run Shaw established the first TVB Artistes Training Course, increasing investment and cultivation in the market for acting talent, and pioneering a series of initiatives to nurture famous actors, screenwriters, and directors.
In 1972, Shaw Brothers Studio broke into the international market. King Boxer (《天下第一拳》), starring Lo Lieh (羅烈), was a sensation in the United States, showing simultaneously in 350 cinemas on an unprecedented scale.
In 1980, the Shaw Organisation significantly acquired shares in TVB. At that time, TVB-produced television series such as The Bund (《上海灘》) and The Legend of the Condor Heroes (《射雕英雄傳》) became immensely popular throughout the Chinese-speaking television world.
From 1 January 2010, Run Run Shaw, who had long led TVB, stepped down from his position as Executive Chairman of the company, becoming only the non-executive Chairman of the Board. While his wife, Mona Yat-wah Fong (方逸華), formally took the helm, taking charge of the television empire valued at over 16 billion HKD.
Besides his film and television business, Run Run Shaw tirelessly dedicated himself to philanthropy over many years, donating sums in the tens of billions to build educational and medical facilities in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong.
To recognise Run Run Shaw's contribution and concern for the nation's development, the Chinese government named asteroid 2899, discovered in 1990, "Run Run Shaw".
In 2003, Run Run Shaw also founded the Shaw Prize, which annually selects and awards scientists from around the world who have made outstanding achievements in mathematics, life science and medicine, and astronomy.
