Sebastian Shaw

SEBASTIAN SHAW d1994. English actor director and poet who over a 65 year career appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions. Although he worked primarily on the London stage, he made his Broadway debut in 1929 when he played one of the two murderers in Ropes End. He appeared in his first film "Caste" in 1930 and quickly began to create a name for himself in motion pictures. He was particularly known for his performances in Shakespeare productions, which were considered daring and ahead of their time. In 1966, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company where he remained for a decade and delivered some of his most acclaimed performances. He is however perhaps most widely known for his brief, but important performance in Return Of The Jedi (the third installment in the Star Wars franchise) in which he portrayed an unmasked Darth Vader and then later in the film the ghost of Anakin Skywalker. Ten years after Shaw's death in 1994, his "Return of The Jedi" scenes were digitally altered in the 2004 DVD re-release. His image was removed altogether from the final scene which proved to be a most controversial and unpopular change amongst fans