#11210, Sebastian Lewis SHAW

The Trust is fortunate to have obtained copy no.1 (of 500) of 'SEBASTIAN SHAW Memoirs and Recollections' complied and introduced by his cousin, Isobel Montgomery Campbell.

Sebastian Shaw's brief but significant role as the finally unmasked but dying Anakin Skywalker in the 1983 epic STAR WARS: RETURN of the JEDI, catapulted him to worldwide fame, but Sebastian had actually made his first film, CASTE, over 50 years earlier. As a matinee idol in London and New York during the 1920s and 30s he worked with such greats as Ivor Novello and Alexander Korda. His memoirs, frank and full of surprises, detail those times: they are complemented here by recollections from family and friends, over 40 photographs, many published for the first time, and a full list of his stage and screen appearances.

John Kane remembers: "The last time I saw Sebastian onstage was playing the Wizard in the RSC's production of 'The Wizard of Oz' which I had adapted from the MGM film script. He was then in his late seventies and admitted to having a little trouble here and there with the words. But the warmth and sweetness of character that he brought to all his roles overcame any little hesitations he might have had. He so enjoyed playing the role that he invited me and my wife to the Garrick Club for lunch. What we talked about I can't remember but he was wearing a blazer and looked as dapper as ever. He was a dear man and one of those people who makes life just that little bit better for being in the world."