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Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in West Gorton , Manchester. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he was a contemporary of Tom Courtney. On leaving RADA Thaw was awarded a contract with the Liverpool Playhouse. His first film role was a bit part in the 1962 adaptation of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner starring Tom Courtney.

Thaw will perhaps be best remembered for two roles: the hard-bitten Flying Squad detective Jack Regan in the television series (and two films) The SweeneyThe Sweeney is a British television police drama focusing on two crime-fighting members of the Flying Squad, an elite branch of the British police force specialising in armed robbery and violent crime. The programme originally aired on ITV from 1975 until ( 1975Events January January 1 Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up and are sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in jail on February 21 January 5 The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, i - 1978Events January January 1 The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. January 1 Air India's Boeing 747 explodes near Bombay 213 dead. January 4 Referendum in Chile supports policies of Augusto Pinochet.), which established him as a major star in the United Kingdom, and as the quietly-spoken, introspective and bitter detective Inspector MorseWere you looking for Morse code Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse is a fictional character, who features in a series of thirteen detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. He is a senior CID officer with the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, E ( 19871987 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events January January 1 Nunavut's capital changes it name to Iqaluit from Frobisher Bay. January 3 Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. January 4 An Amtrak train - 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap), with specials in 19951995 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). It has a Golden number of 1, and was the first year of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995- 2005): http://www. org/culture/indigenous . Events January events Ja - 19981998 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of the Ocean''. Events January January 1998 A massive ice storm, caused by El Nino, strikes New England, southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting and 2000. He won two BAFTA awards for Inspector Morse.

He subsequently played liberal barrister James Kavanagh in Kavanagh QC ( 1995 - 1999, with a special in 2001). Thaw also tried his hand at comedy with his own sitcom called Home to Roost ( 1985 - 1988). His only screen project not considered a popular success was the BBC series 'A Year in Provence'.

Thaw has appeared in a number of films, including Cry Freedom, which received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Chaplin for director Richard Attenborough.

In 1964 Thaw married Sally Alexander , but they divorced four years later. He married actress Sheila Hancock in 1973 whom he remained with until his death in 2002. Thaw has two daughters, Abigail Thaw from his first marriage, and Joanna Thaw from his second.

In her 2004 autobiography Sheila Hancock revealed the extent of Thaw's alcoholism that had started in the late 1970s and caused problems in their marraige and the gaps in Thaw's career in the early 1980s and later 1990s . Thaw was eventually cured a year before his death.

Thaw was awarded the CBE in 1994. It is believed that he was shortly due to have received a knighthood when he died from esophageal cancer at the age of 60 in 2002.