In August of 1961 John Osborne's second wife, actress Mary Ure Osborne, gave birth to his son Colin Murray Osborne. At the time the married couple were in the middle of increasingly hostile divorce proceedings and through these proceedings it was revealed that there was more good chance that John Osborne was not the father of Colin. He seemed to believe that the real father was actor Robert Shaw. Theses beliefs seemed to be validated when Ure married Shaw almost immediately after the divorce was finalized (and then Shaw adopted Colin). Even though signs point to Osborne doubting the paternity of his son, he acted as the boy's father throughout the divorce process up until the adoption. Many people believe the reason for this was that Osborne wanted to get through the divorce proceedings as quickly as possible and then marry his third wife, Penelope Gilliatt. After Shaw died at the young age of 55 of a heart attack, rumor has it that Osborne's wife at the time (his fifth) suggested he finally meet the 17 year old. John quickly turned down this proposal. Oddly enough, if Colin was indeed Shaw's biological son then he ended up adopted his own son.Thursday, April 16, 2015
A Subject of Scandal and Concern: The Case of Colin Shaw
In August of 1961 John Osborne's second wife, actress Mary Ure Osborne, gave birth to his son Colin Murray Osborne. At the time the married couple were in the middle of increasingly hostile divorce proceedings and through these proceedings it was revealed that there was more good chance that John Osborne was not the father of Colin. He seemed to believe that the real father was actor Robert Shaw. Theses beliefs seemed to be validated when Ure married Shaw almost immediately after the divorce was finalized (and then Shaw adopted Colin). Even though signs point to Osborne doubting the paternity of his son, he acted as the boy's father throughout the divorce process up until the adoption. Many people believe the reason for this was that Osborne wanted to get through the divorce proceedings as quickly as possible and then marry his third wife, Penelope Gilliatt. After Shaw died at the young age of 55 of a heart attack, rumor has it that Osborne's wife at the time (his fifth) suggested he finally meet the 17 year old. John quickly turned down this proposal. Oddly enough, if Colin was indeed Shaw's biological son then he ended up adopted his own son.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This story is certainly interesting and scandalous but I'm also curious if it had any affect on Osbourne's writing. It's clear by the number of wives he had that he had a somewhat unstable private life. Did any of these issues ever come out in his writing? Also did he ever actually become a father or was Colin his only potential child?
ReplyDeleteYes, he had a daughter, Nolan, who he later disowned.
ReplyDelete