Dick Shawn
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.
Fotos
Películas (39)
Leave 'em Laughing
2020 · Self (archive footage)
Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
2018 · Self (archive footage)
Batman & Robin
1997 · Snow Miser (archive sound) (uncredited)
Something a Little Less Serious: A Tribute to 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World'
1991 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rented Lips
1988 · Charlie Slater
Maid to Order
1987 · Stan Starkey
Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues
1987 · Self
Playboy Video Magazine, Volume 12
1987 · Self
The Making of Captain EO
1986 · Self
Captain EO
1986 · Commander Bog
The Perils of P.K
1986 · The Psychiatrist
The Check is in the Mail...
1986 · Donald
The Tommy Chong Roast
1986
The Emperor's New Clothes
1985 · Emperor
Water
1985 · Deke Halliday
The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud
1984 · The Ultimate Patient
Angel
1984 · Mae
Best Chest in the West
1984 · Self - Host
Young Warriors
1983 · Professor Hoover
Good-bye Cruel World
1982 · Rodney Pointsetter / Ainsley Pointsetter, Screenplay
Playboy's 25th Anniversary Celebration
1979 · Self
Love at First Bite
1979 · Lieutenant Ferguson NYPD
Fast Friends
1979 · Deke Edwards
Looking Up
1977 · Manny Lander
The Year Without a Santa Claus
1974 · Snow Miser (voice)
Evil Roy Slade
1972 · Marshal Bing Bell
Dames at Sea
1971 · Lucky
Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man
1970 · Himself
The Happy Ending
1969 · Harry Bricker
The Producers
1968 · Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.)
Penelope
1966 · Dr. Gregory Mannix
Way... Way Out
1966 · Igor Valkleinokov
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
1966 · Captain Lionel Cash
A Very Special Favor
1965 · Arnold Plum
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963 · Sylvester Marcus
The Wizard of Baghdad
1961 · Genii-Ali Mahmud
Wake Me When It's Over
1960 · Gus Brubaker
The All-Star Christmas Show
1958 · Self
The Opposite Sex
1956 · Singer
Series (24)
Amazing Stories
1985 · Joe Willoughby
The Twilight Zone
1985 · (segment "Cold Reading")
Hail to the Chief
1985 · Ivan Zolotov
Tales from the Darkside
1984 · Bo Gumbs
St. Elsewhere
1982 · Edgar Eisenberg
Madame's Place
1982 · Self
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982 · Guest Interviewee, Emperor
Magnum, P.I.
1980 · Buzz Benoit
Vacaciones en el mar
1977 · David Jackson, Harvey Blanchard
Laverne & Shirley
1976
Medical Center
1969
The Dick Cavett Show
1968 · Self - Guest
ABC Stage 67
1966 · Paul Benderhof
That Girl
1966
The Judy Garland Show
1963 · Self
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
The Lucy Show
1962 · Ace Winthrop
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · Self
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · Self
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · Self - Co-Host, Self
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959 · Charlie Wilson
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · Self
General Electric Theater
1953 · Felix Franklin
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Self