1923-12-01 ( 101 years old ) in Buffalo, New York, USA
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.
Movies
Leave 'em Laughing
2020-07-25
Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
2018-02-17
Batman & Robin
1997-06-20
Rented Lips
1987-10-28
Maid to Order
1987-07-10
Captain EO
1986-09-12
The Making of Captain EO
1986-09-12
The Perils of P.K
1986-06-06
The Check is in the Mail...
1986-05-02
The Tommy Chong Roast
1986-01-01
The Emperor's New Clothes
1985-10-05
If the Shoes Fit...
1985-05-12
Water
1985-01-11
Angel
1984-04-19
Best Chest in the West
1984-01-01
The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud
1984-01-01
Young Warriors
1983-08-28
Good-bye Cruel World
1983-01-02
Playboy's 25th Anniversary Celebration
1979-05-07
Love at First Bite
1979-04-26
Fast Friends
1979-03-19
Looking Up
1977-05-15
The Year Without a Santa Claus
1974-12-10
Evil Roy Slade
1972-02-18
Dames at Sea
1971-11-15
Annie: the Women in the Life of a Man
1970-02-18
The Happy Ending
1969-12-21
The Producers
1968-03-18
Penelope
1966-11-10
Way... Way Out
1966-10-26
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
1966-08-31
A Very Special Favor
1965-08-02
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963-11-07
The Wizard of Baghdad
1961-03-03
Wake Me When It's Over
1960-06-10
The Opposite Sex
1956-11-15
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