Dick Shawn
Born
December 1, 1923
Died
April 17, 1987 (63 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Buffalo, New York, USA
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
Leave 'em Laughing
Self (archive footage)
2020
Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
Self (archive footage)
2018
Batman & Robin
Snow Miser (archive sound) (uncredited)
1997
Something a Little Less Serious: A Tribute to 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World'
Self (archive footage)
1991
Rented Lips
Charlie Slater
1987
Maid to Order
Stan Starkey
1987
The Making of Captain EO
Self
1986
Captain EO
Commander Bog
1986
The Perils of P.K
The Psychiatrist
1986
The Check is in the Mail...
Donald
1986
The Tommy Chong Roast
1986
The Emperor's New Clothes
Emperor
1985
Amazing Stories
Joe Willoughby · (1 episode)
1985
The Twilight Zone
(segment "Cold Reading") · (1 episode)
1985
If the Shoes Fit...
Bo Gumbs
1985
Hail to the Chief
Ivan Zolotov · (7 episodes)
1985
Water
Deke Halliday
1985
Tales from the Darkside
Bo Gumbs · (1 episode)
1984
Angel
Mae
1984
Best Chest in the West
Self - Host
1984
The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud
The Ultimate Patient
1984
Young Warriors
Professor Hoover
1983
Good-bye Cruel World
Rodney Pointsetter / Ainsley Pointsetter
1983
St. Elsewhere
(1 episode)
1982
Madame's Place
Self · (1 episode)
1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
Guest Interviewee · (1 episode)
1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
Emperor · (1 episode)
1982
Magnum, P.I.
Buzz Benoit · (1 episode)
1980
Playboy's 25th Anniversary Celebration
Self
1979
Love at First Bite
Lieutenant Ferguson NYPD
1979
Fast Friends
Deke Edwards
1979
The Love Boat
David Jackson · (1 episode)
1977
The Love Boat
Harvey Blanchard · (2 episodes)
1977
Looking Up
Manny Lander
1977
Laverne & Shirley
(1 episode)
1976
The Year Without a Santa Claus
Snow Miser (voice)
1974
Evil Roy Slade
Marshal Bing Bell
1972
Dames at Sea
Lucky
1971
Annie: the Women in the Life of a Man
Himself
1970
The Happy Ending
Harry Bricker
1969
Medical Center
(2 episodes)
1969
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1968
The Producers
Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.)
1968
Penelope
Dr. Gregory Mannix
1966
Way... Way Out
Igor Valkleinokov
1966
ABC Stage 67
Paul Benderhof · (1 episode)
1966
That Girl
(1 episode)
1966
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
Captain Lionel Cash
1966
A Very Special Favor
Arnold Plum
1965
The Judy Garland Show
Self · (1 episode)
1963
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Sylvester Marcus
1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
(1 episode)
1963
The Lucy Show
Ace Winthrop · (1 episode)
1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (6 episodes)
1962
The Merv Griffin Show
Self · (1 episode)
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host · (2 episodes)
1961
The Mike Douglas Show
Self · (2 episodes)
1961
The Wizard of Baghdad
Genii-Ali Mahmud
1961
Wake Me When It's Over
Gus Brubaker
1960
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Charlie Wilson · (1 episode)
1959
The Opposite Sex
Singer
1956
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self · (1 episode)
1956
General Electric Theater
Felix Franklin · (1 episode)
1953
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (6 episodes)
1948