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