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.
2020
as Self (archive footage)
2018
as Self (archive footage)
1997
as Snow Miser (archive sound) (uncredited)
1991
as Self (archive footage)
1987
as Charlie Slater
1987
as Stan Starkey
1986
as Commander Bog
1986
as Self
1986
as The Psychiatrist
1986
as Donald
1986
1985
as Emperor
1985
as Joe Willoughby
1985
1985
as Bo Gumbs
1985
as Ivan Zolotov
1985
as Deke Halliday
1984
as Bo Gumbs
1984
as Mae
1984
as Self - Host
1984
as The Ultimate Patient
1983
as Professor Hoover
1983
as Rodney Pointsetter / Ainsley Pointsetter
1982
1982
as Self
1982
as Guest Interviewee
1982
as Emperor
1980
1979
as Self
1979
as Lieutenant Ferguson NYPD
1979
as Deke Edwards
1977
as David Jackson
1977
as Harvey Blanchard
1977
as Manny Lander
1976
1974
as Snow Miser (voice)
1972
as Marshal Bing Bell
1971
as Lucky
1970
as Himself
1969
as Harry Bricker
1969
1968
as Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.)
1966
as Dr. Gregory Mannix
1966
as Igor Valkleinokov
1966
as Paul Benderhof
1966
1966
as Captain Lionel Cash
1965
as Arnold Plum
1963
as Self
1963
as Sylvester Marcus
1962
as Ace Winthrop
1961
as Genii-Ali Mahmud
1960
as Gus Brubaker
1959
as Charlie Wilson
1956
as Singer
1956
as Self
1953
as Felix Franklin