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