Dick Shawn (born Richard Schulefand, December 1, 1923 â€" April 17,
1987) was an American actor and comedian. He played a wide variety of
supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s
he played small roles in madcap comedies, usually portraying
caricatures of counter culture personalities, such as deadbeat son
Sylvester Marcus in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and the hippie
actor Lorenzo Saint DuBois ("L.S.D.") in The Producers (1968).Shawn
was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in adjacent Lackawanna.He
performed his stand-up comedy act for over 35 years in nightclubs
around the world. His award-winning one-man stage show, The Second
Greatest Entertainer in the Whole Wide World, was sometimes performed
with a unique opening. When the audience entered the theater, they saw
a bare stage with a pile of bricks in stage center. When the play
began, Shawn emerged from the pile of bricks. The startling effect of
this required complete concentration and breath control because the
slightest movement of the bricks could ruin the surprise appearance.In
addition to roles in more than 30 movies and seven Broadway
productions, Shawn made television appearances, toured often, and
periodically performed a one-man show that mixed songs, sketches, and
pantomime. He was a speaker at the Friars Club Roasts in Los Angeles
and New York. At one of the X-rated roasts (a 1986 Playboy roast of
Tommy Chong) that had overdosed on tasteless routines by previous
speakers, Shawn walked up to the microphone, took a long pause, and
"vomited" pea soup onto himself and other speakers at the dais.
1987) was an American actor and comedian. He played a wide variety of
supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s
he played small roles in madcap comedies, usually portraying
caricatures of counter culture personalities, such as deadbeat son
Sylvester Marcus in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and the hippie
actor Lorenzo Saint DuBois ("L.S.D.") in The Producers (1968).Shawn
was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in adjacent Lackawanna.He
performed his stand-up comedy act for over 35 years in nightclubs
around the world. His award-winning one-man stage show, The Second
Greatest Entertainer in the Whole Wide World, was sometimes performed
with a unique opening. When the audience entered the theater, they saw
a bare stage with a pile of bricks in stage center. When the play
began, Shawn emerged from the pile of bricks. The startling effect of
this required complete concentration and breath control because the
slightest movement of the bricks could ruin the surprise appearance.In
addition to roles in more than 30 movies and seven Broadway
productions, Shawn made television appearances, toured often, and
periodically performed a one-man show that mixed songs, sketches, and
pantomime. He was a speaker at the Friars Club Roasts in Los Angeles
and New York. At one of the X-rated roasts (a 1986 Playboy roast of
Tommy Chong) that had overdosed on tasteless routines by previous
speakers, Shawn walked up to the microphone, took a long pause, and
"vomited" pea soup onto himself and other speakers at the dais.
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