Dick Shawn
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 1, 1923
- Died
- April 17, 1987 (aged 63)
- Birthplace
- Buffalo, New York, USA
Biography
Dick Shawn (December 1, 1923 – April 17, 1987) was an American actor. Way ahead of his time most say, it was extremely difficult indeed to know how to properly tap into this man's eclectic talents. Shawn began inching toward the forefront during the be-bop 50s and early 60s with his odd penchant for playing cool cats. During his mild bid for film stardom, he was top-billed as a hip, laid back genie in the thoroughly dismal satire The Wizard of Baghdad (1960), but seemed to have better luck when taken in smaller doses. He fared quite well opposite another "way-out-there" comedian, Ernie Kovacs, in Wake Me When It's Over (1960) as a hustling soldier out to make a buck in the Far East. Also on the plus side, he replaced Zero Mostel in the bawdy musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" on Broadway and stole a small scene in the all-star epic comedy It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). By far, the one role that completely overshadows all of his other hard work is his mock portrayal of a singing Adolf Hitler in the show-within-a-movie The Producers (1968). In the film, which starred Mostel and Gene Wilder as two con artists deliberately producing a stage "bomb" called "Springtime for Hitler," Shawn sang the hammy, absurdly narcissistic song "Love Power." The movie finally captured Shawn in his element, but this stroke of genius of matching actor to role would never happen again for him. For the most part his roles came off slick and smarmy, and were stuck in mediocre material. Shawn won a huge fan base, however, touring in one-man stage shows which contained a weird mix of songs, sketches, satire, philosophy and even pantomime. A bright, innovative wit, one of his best touring shows was called "The Second Greatest Entertainer in the World." During the show's intermission, Shawn would lie visibly on the stage floor absolutely still during the entire time. By freakish coincidence, Shawn was performing at the University of California at San Diego in 1987 when he suddenly fell forward on the stage during one of his spiels about the Holocaust. The audience, of course, laughed, thinking it was just a part of his odd shtick. In actuality, the 63-year-old married actor with four children had suffered a fatal heart attack. A not-surprising end for this thoroughly offbeat and intriguing personality.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Leave 'em Laughing
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Batman & Robin
Movie · as Snow Miser (archive sound) (uncredited)
Something a Little Less Serious: A Tribute to 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World'
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rented Lips
Movie · as Charlie Slater
Maid to Order
Movie · as Stan Starkey
Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues
Movie · as Self
Playboy Video Magazine, Volume 12
Movie · as Self
The Making of Captain EO
Movie · as Self
The Tommy Chong Roast
Movie
The Perils of P.K
Movie · as The Psychiatrist
The Check is in the Mail...
Movie · as Donald
Captain EO
Movie · as Commander Bog
Water
Movie · as Deke Halliday
The Emperor's New Clothes
Movie · as Emperor
The Twilight Zone
TV · as (segment "Cold Reading") · 1 ep
Hail to the Chief
TV · as Ivan Zolotov · 7 eps
Amazing Stories
TV · as Joe Willoughby · 1 ep
Angel
Movie · as Mae
Best Chest in the West
Movie · as Self - Host
The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud
Movie · as The Ultimate Patient
Tales from the Darkside
TV · as Bo Gumbs · 1 ep
Young Warriors
Movie · as Professor Hoover
Good-bye Cruel World
Movie · as Rodney Pointsetter / Ainsley Pointsetter
St. Elsewhere
TV · as Edgar Eisenberg · 1 ep
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV · as Guest Interviewee, Emperor · 1 ep
Madame's Place
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Magnum, P.I.
TV · as Buzz Benoit · 1 ep
Love at First Bite
Movie · as Lieutenant Ferguson NYPD
Playboy's 25th Anniversary Celebration
Movie · as Self
Fast Friends
Movie · as Deke Edwards
Looking Up
Movie · as Manny Lander
The Love Boat
TV · as David Jackson, Harvey Blanchard · 1 ep
Laverne & Shirley
TV · 1 ep
The Year Without a Santa Claus
Movie · as Snow Miser (voice)
Evil Roy Slade
Movie · as Marshal Bing Bell
Dames at Sea
Movie · as Lucky
Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man
Movie · as Himself
The Happy Ending
Movie · as Harry Bricker
Medical Center
TV · 1 ep
The Producers
Movie · as Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.)
The Dick Cavett Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
Movie · as Captain Lionel Cash
Way... Way Out
Movie · as Igor Valkleinokov
Penelope
Movie · as Dr. Gregory Mannix
That Girl
TV · 1 ep
ABC Stage 67
TV · as Paul Benderhof · 1 ep
A Very Special Favor
Movie · as Arnold Plum
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Movie · as Sylvester Marcus
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
TV · 1 ep
The Judy Garland Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Lucy Show
TV · as Ace Winthrop · 1 ep
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV · as Self · 8 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Wizard of Baghdad
Movie · as Genii-Ali Mahmud
The Mike Douglas Show
TV · as Self - Co-Host · 2 eps
Wake Me When It's Over
Movie · as Gus Brubaker
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
TV · as Charlie Wilson · 1 ep
The All-Star Christmas Show
Movie · as Self
The Opposite Sex
Movie · as Singer
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
General Electric Theater
TV · as Felix Franklin · 1 ep
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV · as Self · 6 eps