 As Shaw grew older , his reputation as a dramatic actor grew stronger , and he became known for a sharp intelligence and dignified style . Although his good looks diminished , reviewers felt that he used his florid and weatherbeaten face well in evoking grandeur and self @-@ assuredness in such roles as generals , priests and his familiar Shakespearean parts . In 1956 , his wife Margaret Delamere died ; she was survived by their daughter Drusilla . Shaw began a romantic relationship in the mid @-@ 1950s with Joan Ingpen , the well @-@ known classical music and opera talent agent who had previously represented him . The two were romantically involved , to the point that she took his surname , until Shaw 's death . During the 1980s , however , Shaw also had a brief relationship with Harriet Ravenscroft , the mother of the disc jockey John Peel , whom he met while performing at Ludlow Castle at Ludlow . He split his time between Ingpen and Ravenscroft on a four @-@ day rotating basis to which both women consented . Although Peel got along with Shaw and said he made his mother happy , he said he did not feel comfortable with the arrangement . He felt it disrupted his mother 's friendships and prospects for a more stable relationship . 
