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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

63

Gender

Male

Birthday

1923-12-01

Day of Death

1987-04-17 (64 years old)

Place of Birth

Buffalo, New York, USA

Also Known As

Richard Schulefand

Dick Shawn

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

Acting

Angel

1984

Angel

as

Mae

Maid to Order

1987

Maid to Order

as

Stan Starkey

The Producers

1968

The Producers

as

Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.)

Young Warriors

1983

Young Warriors

as

Professor Hoover

Best Chest in the West

1984

Best Chest in the West

as

Self - Host

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

1963

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

as

Sylvester Marcus

The Year Without a Santa Claus

1974

The Year Without a Santa Claus

as

Snow Miser (voice)

What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?

1966

What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?

as

Captain Lionel Cash

Love at First Bite

1979

Love at First Bite

as

Lieutenant Ferguson NYPD

The Happy Ending

1969

The Happy Ending

as

Harry Bricker

Way... Way Out

1966

Way... Way Out

as

Igor Valkleinokov

Wake Me When It's Over

1960

Wake Me When It's Over

as

Gus Brubaker

Looking Up

1977

Looking Up

as

Manny Lander

Penelope

1966

Penelope

as

Dr. Gregory Mannix

Good-bye Cruel World

1982

Good-bye Cruel World

as

Rodney Pointsetter / Ainsley Pointsetter

A Very Special Favor

1965

A Very Special Favor

as

Arnold Plum

Evil Roy Slade

1972

Evil Roy Slade

as

Marshal Bing Bell

Mel Brooks: Unwrapped

2018

Mel Brooks: Unwrapped

as

Self (archive footage)

The Opposite Sex

1956

The Opposite Sex

as

Singer

The Wizard of Baghdad

1961

The Wizard of Baghdad

as

Genii-Ali Mahmud

Water

1985

Water

as

Deke Halliday

Dames at Sea

1971

Dames at Sea

as

Lucky

The Perils of P.K

1986

The Perils of P.K

as

The Psychiatrist

Rented Lips

1987

Rented Lips

as

Charlie Slater

Batman & Robin

1997

Batman & Robin

as

Snow Miser (archive sound) (uncredited)

Fast Friends

1979

Fast Friends

as

Deke Edwards

Leave 'em Laughing

2020

Leave 'em Laughing

as

Self (archive footage)

The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud

1984

The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud

as

The Ultimate Patient

Captain EO

1986

Captain EO

as

Commander Bog

Magnum, P.I.

Magnum, P.I.

as

Buzz Benoit

The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone

as

(segment "Cold Reading")

The Lucy Show

The Lucy Show

as

Ace Winthrop

General Electric Theater

General Electric Theater

as

Felix Franklin

Hail to the Chief

Hail to the Chief

as

Ivan Zolotov

ABC Stage 67

ABC Stage 67

as

Paul Benderhof

Amazing Stories

Amazing Stories

as

Joe Willoughby

The Mike Douglas Show

The Mike Douglas Show

as

Self - Co-Host

Faerie Tale Theatre

Faerie Tale Theatre

as

Guest Interviewee

The Love Boat

The Love Boat

as

David Jackson

The Dick Cavett Show

The Dick Cavett Show

as

Self - Guest

Production

Crew

Directing