still alive as of the book’s publication date), who told “her stories of the Shaw family. She held nothing back, including their triumphs and failures, their joys and successes.” Myers also credits his grandmother, who relayed family stories to him over the years. However, she died in 1998, well before the author began actively researching this book. The author mentions several other relatives, including Robert Shaw’s other siblings, so Myers may well have interviewed them as well about the book. The only other credited source is Carl Gottlieb, the screenwriter of Jaws, who provided material about the filming of that classic movie and Robert Shaw’s involvement. In the introductory Author’s Note, Myers adds he had access to “a trove of information my mother kept in her closet for decades, including personal letters, audio recordings, playbills, and scrapbooks.”

I mention the author’s source material at length because Robert Shaw reads like the screenplay of a biodrama, giving readers the impression of being present on many occasions in Robert’s life. This was a deliberate decision on the author’s part, who confesses, “I have filled in details and crafted dialogue to capture how they talked, how they thought, and what they saw.” I doubt the author knows how celebrities like Thornton Wilder, Donald Pleasence, and Richard Dreyfuss thought, or even much of what they saw, so conversations involving these individuals are fictionalizations. In that regard, the author credits documentarian Bill Guttentag, a childhood friend, who taught him “to keep the story moving forward, identify the arc in every chapter, and treat every chapter like a story unto itself, with a beginning, middle, and end.” In other words, treat the book like a fictional work.

How much readers enjoy Robert Shaw will depend in large part on their appreciation for this type of “biography.” This book is not the type of scholarly reference work you often find. I would be hesitant to rely on it as a definitive source for any information about Robert other than some readily verifiable details. The invented dialogue may be skewed to present Robert more favorably. However, some details of the actor’s life are clear. His father, a onetime respected local doctor, became an alcoholic and died in the family home when Robert was 13. Later, Robert became an alcoholic himself, which probably contributed to his premature death. The author includes some details about Robert’s career of which I was unaware, including his starring role in a 50s TV series, The Buccaneers. That role led to his taking part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade that year. The author also outlines a possible friendship between Robert and Sean Connery, which may have aided both their careers. Robert and Sean played soldiers in a British TV adaptation of one of Robert’s novels. A couple of years later, Robert got his big break when he was cast as the villain in the second James Bond movie, From Russia with Love.

“Robert Shaw” contains several chapters about the making of Jaws and specifically Robert’s role in the movie. During the filming at Martha’s Vineyard, Joanna and several of Robert’s children spent a few days on location watching Robert. Every day, a boat would take them out to sea, where they waited with the other support boats that were positioned so they wouldn’t be visible during filming. (Steven Spielberg insisted that no other boats besides the Orca could ever be seen when that vessel was at sea.) When the time came for Robert to film his scenes for the day, a motorboat would ferry him over to the Orca. The waits were often lengthy, giving Robert considerable time to drink heavily, which undoubtedly contributed to his growing alcohol problems.

The material on Jaws also includes a discussion of Robert’s well-documented treatment of co-stars, in which he would antagonize them to produce better performances on their part. This approach worked well with Richard Dreyfuss on the set of Jaws. (In one anecdote, Dreyfuss throws Robert’s flask overboard during a day of filming, only to discover the flask was a gift from Paul Newman, who co-starred with Robert in The Sting.)  

Although Robert Shaw contains much new material about Robert (how much of which is true is open to question), the author also devotes considerable time to discussing his mother’s life and career. Joanna and Robert were close, so many of the events depicted were conversations between the two or with other notables, including Alan Bates, Donald Pleasence, and Harold Pinter, all of whom were involved in Robert’s Broadway career. However, the author also includes several chapters in the book about Joanna that have nothing to do with Robert. This material includes a discussion of the two years Joanna spent in South Africa in the 1950s, where she was introduced to the harsh realities of apartheid (and also met Nelson Mandela). I found this material highly interesting, albeit irrelevant to an understanding of Robert’s life. Others may be upset that a somewhat slim book devotes so much space to a woman whose only claim to fame is being Robert Shaw’s sister.

Robert Shaw is also haphazardly edited. The book skips around chronologically. The author describes his grandfather’s death in 1940 twice. It’s a shocking moment that affected the family tremendously, but there was no need to go over the same information a second time. The material about the making of Jaws is followed by what will seem to many as too brief a chapter summarizing Robert’s career in the preceding decade. During this time, he made most of his best-known films, including From Russia With Love, A Man for All Seasons (which garnered Robert his only Oscar nomination), Young Winston, and The Sting. Unfortunately, the author’s discussion of Robert’s participation in those movies is cursory. (The only mention of The Sting is in the story about Richard Dreyfuss tossing the Paul Newman flask overboard.) Even after Robert’s death, Myers devotes two lengthy chapters to detailing what happened to Joanna and her mother in the subsequent years.

Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the Set of JAWS and Beyond was a disappointment for me. The author squandered his unique perspective on his uncle’s life in favor of middling biodrama. I wouldn’t use this book as a reference for Robert’s life or career, but it contains new information that gives me a better understanding of his life. However, I could never quite get past the author’s dialogue-heavy style and questionable attention to accuracy. Some readers, especially fans of Jaws, may overlook the book’s flaws or may even find the author’s writing style engrossing. Others may find the work a complete non-starter because of those same flaws. I am somewhat in the middle. I can’t recommend Robert Shaw, and I would rate it 2.5 stars if I could. However, I’m rounding it up to three primarily for the material on Jaws. Unfortunately, the definitive biography of Robert Shaw remains to be written.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.