LONDON, England -- Tributes have been paid to British actor John Thaw who was known to millions of television viewers around the world as the grumpy, opera-loving detective in "Inspector Morse."
Thaw, whose long career also included starring roles in The Sweeney and Kavanagh QC, died on Thursday at 60 after losing a battle with throat cancer.
In a statement, his actress wife Sheila Hancock, 69, said: "John died with his family around him. We have all been so grateful for the thousands of letters and messages from people wishing him well.
"Everyone including the media have been wonderful during this difficult period and I would like them all to know how much their support and understanding has meant to him and to all of us."
Thaw had announced last year that he was undergoing treatment for cancer of the throat, but that he intended to get back to work.
Leading the tributes was Morse creator Colin Dexter, who said: "He loved work. He was a perfectionist. That's how I will remember him, I think, giving 100 percent."
David Liddiment, director of channels at the Independent Television (ITV) network, said: "Throughout his distinguished career John understood the power of the small screen.
"He was the consummate television actor and caught the imagination of millions of viewers.
Television producer Ted Childs met Thaw and his wife last week and discussed the possibility of working on another episode of Kavanagh QC.
"John was as he has been throughout his illness -- very positive, funny and self-effacing," said Childs.
"Even in recent weeks, when he clearly wasn't very well, he was anxious to get back to work and had a great sense of humour.
Actress Sarah Lancashire, who starred with Thaw in the ITV drama "The Glass" last year, said Thaw was a "national treasure" and would be "greatly missed."
She said: "It was a privilege to have worked with John but an even greater one to have known him, albeit briefly, as a friend."
Clive Jones, the chief executive of Carlton TV, which made "Inspector Morse" and "Kavanagh QC," said Thaw was "one of the great actors of his generation."
"He was universally the viewers' choice," he said. "He will be remembered for some outstanding theatre and television work, but most of all for setting new standards in television films with Inspector Morse."
Thaw was a respected stage actor and had been a leading television actor for many years.
But was he was indelibly identified with "Inspector Morse," creating a complex character whose flaws appeal to fans as much as his better qualities.
He was offered the part of the grumpy, beer-loving, cerebral, Oxford-based detective, in 1985 and it became one of the most important and best-loved television dramas of recent years with a legion of loyal fans.
The series, created by Colin Dexter, ran for 13 years with Thaw's character carrying out 33 investigations among the dreaming spires of Oxford.
When the final episode, featuring Morse's death, was screened in November 2000, over 13 million people tuned in with many fans sending messages of condolence to a website dedicated to the show.
Rada-trained Thaw landed his first film role in 1962 in the landmark movie "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner."
He was catapulted to stardom in 1974 as Detective Inspector Jack Regan in the police series The Sweeney, and a spin-off movie landed the Evening Standard Best Film Actor of the Year Award in 1977.
Thaw's family has been touched by cancer a number of times. His grandson Jack, six, was diagnosed with a brain tumour two years ago.
His wife, who fought breast cancer 13 years ago, lost her first husband Alec Ross to the disease in 1971.
