Movie bosses can enjoy oddly long lives; Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor lived to 103. But for endurance and influence, no mogul can top Sir Run Run Shaw, who died Jan. 7 at 106. Shaw Brothers, the Hong Kong studio run by Run Run, dominated Chinese movie production for decades and popularized martial-arts films around the world.
The youngest son of a Shanghai textile manufacturer, Shao Yifu and several of his brothers formed the Unique Film Production Co. in 1924. By 1960, Run Run had taken Hong Kong; his Movietown studio made 40 films a year on 12 soundstages operating in...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
