Run Run Shaw,Grandmaster of Kung Fu Dies at 107

Run Run Shaw, father of the Chinese art called Kung Fu, who built a Hong Kong movie empire that created actors like Chow Yun-fat, Bruce Lee and director John Woo is dead. He was 107.

A statement from Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), which he co-founded in 1967 did not state the cause of death.

His Shaw Brothers Studios churned out nearly 1,000 movies and gave young directors like Woo their start. He produced a handful of U.S. films that also included the 1979 disaster thriller “Meteor.”

Film stars like Chow got their first break from his TV empire.

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Shaw retired as Chairman TVB in December 2011 at the age of 104. He is survived by his second wife and four children from his first marriage.
Shaw was born near Shanghai to a wealthy textile merchant. He was born either in 1906 or 1907. One of his six siblings, elder brother Runme Shaw, set up a silent film studio, Unique Film Production Co. Shaw and a third brother, Runje, went to Singapore in 1923 to market films to southeast Asia’s Chinese community and eventually opened 139 movie theatres across the region.