Martin Shaw
| Name: | Martin Shaw |
| Also Known As: | |
| Occupation: | actor |
| Medium: | |
| Works: | |
| Official Website(s): | Wikipedia |
| Fan Website(s): | |
| On Fanlore: | Related pages |
Martin Shaw is an actor.
Some Television and Film
The shows listed below are the ones that most often the focus of media fans.
- as Zax in Facelift
- as Ray Doyle in The Professionals
- Ladder of Swords
- Cassidy
- Huw Evans in Doctor in the House
Some Theater
- as Elvis Presley in Are You Lonesome Tonight?
- many more
Prominent in Elf AUs
Some fans in The Professionals fandom cast him as [[Elf AU#Ray Doyle: Elf|an elf. He was also described in many fanworks as "elfin" and having "cat-like" eyes.
RPFs
There isn't a lot of it.
Engagement with Fans, Fan Comments
The Actor's Comments About the Show and Interactions With Fans
Fans grappled with Shaw's comments regarding The Professionals, his interactions with fans, and how it affected their enjoyment.
In 1992, a fan commented on the recent negative comments Martin Shaw made about The Professionals:
And I do agree with you about the sadness of MS's attitude to the show. I sympathise with his feelings of being haunted by it but it does seem a slap in the face to everyone who enjoyed it that he speaks of it now merely with distaste. Still that doesn't stop us from being enthusiastic about The Boys amongst ourselves. [1]
From the 2003 essay, Fandom makes you do the wacky by Gwyneth Rhys:
When I first got yanked into media fandom (as opposed to SF fandom), I remember everyone telling me the horrible things Martin Shaw had said about The Professionals and his character and his fans, and how rude he was to fans. All this was a way to try to direct me to feel otherwise about being a Bodie and Doyle lover — that I should only love Bodie because Lewis Collins was a nice guy. I never bought it. How MS acted to people or thought of his character was irrelevant to me insofar only as it would affect my ability to a) get an autograph if I ever saw him on stage or b) delayed the release of the tapes of the show. That over the top quality of their hatred of the actor affecting the way they watched the show annoyed me.
Confusing the Actor With the Role, Visibility and Breaking the Fourth Wall
In 1986, comments by a fan Jane of Australia about her displeasure regarding the zine Professional Junkies and how she felt its portrayal of Shaw's character would hurt his feelings:
I read PROFESSIONALS JUNKIES the other day and am quite literally ready to yell. Between Page 3 and Page 5 via the medium of a 'Treatise' that set out to explain what the show and characters were all about to fans who have never seen it. Ed. Keeper angered and hurt me deeply with her remarks about Doyle. I ask you to bear with me for a page or two's letter of content as there is a statement that ought to be made, I think in the interests of this fandom itself. There are many fans of Martin Shaw and Ray Doyle out here, and I don't know how they're supposed to react to the description of him as (here compacted from various paragraphs and parts) a slovenly, 5'6" clone of Starsky who dresses like a tramp and has a face rendered ugly by deformity. All of us know how wildly incorrect this is: the raggy jeans and such were replaced with clothes, in the 1980/81 seasons, which made him the picture of elegance; he's listed as being 5'10"—the actor is 5'8" by his own admission; and the cheekbone is simply broken -- a 'deformity' is a tragic disfigurement one is born with! Good lord, the choice of Ms. Keeper's words! How cruel it was to Martin Shaw himself to say these thing, dismissing all his physical attributes, grace and flair; it would hurt him, I'm sure, to read this, and I only hope he never does. [2]
A 1986 comment by a fan who worried about fanwork visibility and the actor:
Jeepers, where do they all end up!?! What are the chances that one will end up on Mr. Shaw's or Mr. Collins' doorstep? And what would said Shaw and Collins think?! I can't decide if they'd have a fit or just collapse laughing. I know that Shatner and Nimoy were (made?) aware of the K/S zines l-o-n-g ago (that's a relationship I just can't see, personally not like S/H and B/D which are obvious progressions of the on-screen characterisations, but, what the hell?), and came to terms with the idea that there's a bunch of loony females out there who have the darndest fantasies and type quite well, and are not bad with art pens and staplers.... Hopefully, Martin and Lewis would see the funny side of it, maybe shudder, maybe giggle, and turn a blind eye. Hopefully. [3]
Sample Martin Shaw Art
Jean Clissold, 1985
from issue Discovered in a Letterbox #5, Martin Shaw as "Lord Goring" -- artist is Evelyn. The editor comments on this art in issue #6: "If you thought the black & white copies came out well you should have seen the original. It was half-tinted on a rich cream paper -just the faintest touch of blush pink to the rose in his lordships buttonhole and a gleam of green to his eyes and the rosebuds leaf- and the texture of the shading was luscious. Absolutely mouthwatering, take my word for it."
References
- ^ from Discovered in a Letterbox #2
- ^ from The Hatstand Express #11 (1986)
- ^ from The Hatstand Express #10 (1986)