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