Dick Shawn
Stand-up comedian · 1923–1987

Dick Shawn

Who Dick Shawn is

American comedian and actor from Buffalo, New York, who performed his stand-up act in nightclubs for over 35 years and toured the award-winning one-man show The Second Greatest Entertainer in the Whole Wide World. On screen he played Sylvester Marcus in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and the hippie actor Lorenzo St. DuBois in Mel Brooks's The Producers (1967), and he voiced Snow Miser in The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974). He died in 1987 after collapsing on stage during a performance at the University of California, San Diego.

At a glance

Born
1923
Died
1987
Style
Physical absurdism
Came up through
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Stand-up specials
The Second Greatest Entertainer in the Whole Wide World and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
On screen
The Ed Sullivan Show, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and 4 more

Specials, shows and podcasts

Stand-up specials

On screen

Where they got their start

Came up the same way

Other comedians in SUCDb who came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson:

The Launching Pads: the shows the comedians came through →

Comedians like Dick Shawn

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →

Career timeline

  1. 1923Born
  2. 1955The Ed Sullivan Show (1955–1958) On screen
  3. 1962A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962–1964, Broadway; replaced Zero Mostel as Pseudolus) Special
  4. 1963It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Sylvester Marcus, film, 1963) On screen
  5. 1964The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (38 episodes, 1964–1986) On screen
  6. 1967The Producers (Lorenzo St. DuBois, film, 1967) On screen
  7. 1974The Year Without a Santa Claus (Snow Miser, voice, 1974) On screen
  8. 1985Hail to the Chief (Ivan Zolotov, 1985) On screen
  9. 1986Captain EO (Commander Bog, short film, 1986) On screen
  10. 1987Died

Questions about Dick Shawn

What stand-up specials has Dick Shawn released?

The Second Greatest Entertainer in the Whole Wide World and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

What TV shows and films are they in?

The Ed Sullivan Show, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Producers, The Year Without a Santa Claus and Hail to the Chief, among 7 credits.

Where did they get their start?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (38 episodes).

Who are some comedians like them?

Buddy Hackett (also in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World), Flip Wilson (also in The Ed Sullivan Show), Rodney Dangerfield (also in The Ed Sullivan Show), Shecky Greene (also in The Ed Sullivan Show) and Totie Fields (also in The Ed Sullivan Show).

The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with their place on the Legends ballots.

Their SUCDb record →

Sources

Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026