HONG KONG (Reuters) – Run Run Shaw, the Hong Kong mogul who created a media empire in Asia spanning movies to television, died today at the age of 107, his company said.
Shaw died peacefully at his home in Hong Kong, surrounded by his family, his company, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) , said in a statement.
“With his vision and energy, he had built the company to become Hong Kong’s premier television station and a world leader in the Chinese-language television industry,” TVB said.
One of Hong Kong cinema’s defining figures, Shaw popularized Chinese kung-fu films in the West and helped turn Hong Kong into a “Hollywood East” over an 80-year career.
He set up Hong Kong’s biggest free-to-air television operator, TVB, in 1967 and served as its executive chairman until 2011. He was then appointed chairman emeritus.
TVB’s television and entertainment empire remains a major influence on popular culture in Hong Kong and in overseas Chinese communities.
