Who Was Peter Shaw? Facts About Recently Passed Angela Lansbury's Late-Husband of Half a Century

English native Peter Shaw Pullen may have been chiefly known as the husband of long-time film and Broadway alum Angela Lansbury. However, the part-time actor led an impressive and admirable career of his own.

The late Peter Shaw Pullen was born in Reading, Berkshire, on June 24, 1918. He reportedly married twice in his lifetime and welcomed three children. As he embarked on endeavors in the entertainment industry, he sometimes made them a family affair.

He worked as a talent agent for his wife and even started a production company with his sons, who later forged their own artistic careers. Like his wife, Shaw sometimes took on acting roles, often playing romantic leads.

Life and Career

Peter Shaw Pullen was a soldier in the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and served in World War II. His career turned around when he started working as a talent agent for the William Morris Agency. Among the celebrities he represented was the late Elvis Presley.

Peter handled Elvis Presley's contracts and negotiations regarding the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, "Hawaii," between 1960 and 1961. He also represented his wife, Angela Lansbury, and ensured her casting in the movie alongside Elvis.

Angela was cast as the singer's mother, despite only being ten years older than him. Her husband had insisted that her looks permitted the role and that it would boost her career. In 1987, he launched Copymore Productions alongside his sons Anthony and David Shaw.

The television play, "Murder, She Wrote," was among the company's productions at Universal Studios. It ran for twelve seasons, with Peter's son, Anthony, directing the 23rd and 24th episodes of the last season. In the 23rd episode, Peter appeared as a Lab Rat Doctor in the show's opening sequence.

Per the IMDb Trivia, Anthony purposely placed him there as a symbolic way to bid farewell to the teleplay. Anthony also led "Mrs. Parker's Revenge," which premiered on May 12, 1996. That same month, on the 19th, Copymore premiered "Death by Demographics."

Before becoming an agent, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios first started casting Peter in 1940s movies as a romantic lead. He also featured in a few other films before the production giant saw that acting wasn't Peter's forte. And so they changed his role, in which he thrived.

Family

Peter Shaw Pullen met his wife of over five decades through his job as an agent. The couple married on August 13, 1949, and had their children, Anthony and Deidre Shaw, who became TV and film producers and directors. Peter and Angela stayed together throughout their union and were only separated by death.

They were both devoted to their family, and Angela would affectionately refer to Peter as "my dear husband" during interviews. As her career came with time-consuming demands, her husband would handle the daily home affairs and even do the cooking.

Angela once stated that she and Peter had the "perfect relationship." The actress admitted that not many people could say that, but she truly believed it about her marriage. She and Peter managed to balance their work and romantic partnerships and always made joint decisions.

The actress also wished she could've spent more time with her family. However, things became tumultuous when their children were involved with drugs in the 1960s.

That's when she decided to move to a new home in Ireland to curb her children's drug use, which proved helpful. It eventually led to Peter's retirement in 1972.

Shaw had reportedly married a woman named Mercia Lydia Squires before his romance with Angela. It's unknown when this alleged married began and ended, but the former lovers shared a son, David Shaw.

Following his passing, Peter was not only survived by his wife and kids, but he also had grandchildren. According to Hollywood Life, they are Peter, Ian, and Katherine. The names of his great-grandchildren are unknown, but the outlet revealed that there were five of them.

His Death

Angela Lansbury's husband, Peter Shaw Pullen, died in Brentwood, California, on January 29, 2003. The former actor, talent agent, and soldier was 87 years old when he passed on due to congestive heart failure.