Denis Shaw
Encyclopedia
Denis Shaw was a British
character actor
specialising in slimy villains. Born in Dulwich
, he was a rotund man, with dark, wavy hair, and slanty eyes. This appearance meant he would often be found troubling countless heroes of the 1950s and 1960s on film and television, most memorably as the German guard Priem in The Colditz Story
(1955).
Alternatively, he could also be found propping up the tavern bar in a number of British horror films. These include Blood of the Vampire
(1958), Jack the Ripper
(1959), The Man Who Could Cheat Death
(1959), The Mummy
(1959), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
(1960), The Curse of the Werewolf
(1961) and The Day of the Triffids
(1962).
1959 saw a change of pace when he took the leading role of judo
-throwing Interpol
detective Caesar Smith in Great Van Robbery. In the film he travels to Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Paris, tracking the robbers of a Royal Mint
van.
His many television credits include, The Adventures of Robin Hood
, The Avengers
, Danger Man
, Dixon of Dock Green
, The Prisoner
, Sherlock Holmes
and Z-Cars
.
He died in London
of a heart attack at the age of forty-nine.
A familiar face around the bars of Soho
in London, he is mentioned in Keith Waterhouse
's play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
specialising in slimy villains. Born in Dulwich
Dulwich
Dulwich is an area of South London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth...
, he was a rotund man, with dark, wavy hair, and slanty eyes. This appearance meant he would often be found troubling countless heroes of the 1950s and 1960s on film and television, most memorably as the German guard Priem in The Colditz Story
The Colditz Story
The Colditz Story is a 1955 prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton.It is based on the book written by P.R...
(1955).
Alternatively, he could also be found propping up the tavern bar in a number of British horror films. These include Blood of the Vampire
Blood of the Vampire
-Plot:A young couple are terrorized by Dr. Callistratus who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant...
(1958), Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper (1959 film)
Jack the Ripper was a 1959 film produced and directed by Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker and is loosely based on Leonard Matters' theory that the Ripper was an avenging doctor. The black-and-white film starred Lee Patterson and Eddie Byrne and co-starred Betty McDowall, John Le Mesurier, and...
(1959), The Man Who Could Cheat Death
The Man Who Could Cheat Death
The Man Who Could Cheat Death is a 1959 British Hammer Film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Anton Diffring and Christopher Lee. It was based on the play The Man in Half Moon Street by Barré Lyndon which had been previously filmed in 1945....
(1959), The Mummy
The Mummy (1959 film)
The Mummy is a 1959 Technicolor British Hammer Horror film starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.Though the title suggests Universal Pictures' 1932 film of the same name, the film actually derives its plot and characters entirely from two later Universal films, The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's...
(1959), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is a 1960 horror film by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Paul Massie as Dr. Jekyll, and co-stars Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and David Kossoff. It was written by Wolf Mankowitz, based on the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
(1960), The Curse of the Werewolf
The Curse of the Werewolf
The Curse of the Werewolf is a British film based on the novel The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore. The film was made by the British film studio Hammer Film Productions and was shot at Bray Studios.-Plot:...
(1961) and The Day of the Triffids
The Day of the Triffids (1962 film)
The Day of the Triffids is a 1962 British film adaptation of the science fiction novel of the same name by John Wyndham. It was directed by Steve Sekely, and Howard Keel played the central character, Bill Masen. The movie was filmed in colour with monaural sound and ran for 93...
(1962).
1959 saw a change of pace when he took the leading role of judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
-throwing Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
detective Caesar Smith in Great Van Robbery. In the film he travels to Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Paris, tracking the robbers of a Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
van.
His many television credits include, The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a popular British television series comprising 143 half-hour, black and white episodes. It starred Richard Greene as the outlaw Robin Hood and Alan Wheatley as his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show aired weekly between 1955 and 1959 on ITV in London in the...
, The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
, Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
, The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
, Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
and Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
.
He died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
of a heart attack at the age of forty-nine.
A familiar face around the bars of Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
in London, he is mentioned in Keith Waterhouse
Keith Waterhouse
Keith Spencer Waterhouse CBE was a novelist, newspaper columnist, and the writer of many television series.-Biography:Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
's play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell is a play by Keith Waterhouse about real-life journalist Jeffrey Bernard. Bernard was still alive at the time the play was first performed in the West End in 1989.Bernard wrote the "Low Life" column in The Spectator...
.
Selected filmography
- The Long MemoryThe Long MemoryThe Long Memory is a 1952 film directed by Robert Hamer and based on the 1951 novel of the same name by Howard Clewes. A crime thriller filmed on the North Kent Marshes on the Thames Estuary and the dingy backstreets of Gravesend its bleak setting and grim atmosphere have led to its acclaim as a...
(1952) - Who Done It?Who Done It? (1956 film)Who Done It? is a 1956 British comedy film starring comedian Benny Hill.-Cast:* Benny Hill as Hugo Dill* Belinda Lee as Frankie Mayne* David Kossoff as Zacco* Garry Marsh as Detective Inspector Hancock* George Margo as Barakov...
(1956) - Innocent MeetingInnocent MeetingInnocent Meeting is a 1958 British crime film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Sean Lynch, Beth Rogan and Raymond Huntley. After meeting her in a record shop, a young tearaway bonds with the daughter of middle-class parents...
(1958) - Passport to ShamePassport to ShamePassport to Shame aka Room 43, is a 1958 British drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff, written by Patrick Alexander and starring Diana Dors and Herbert Lom.-Cast:* Diana Dors as Vicki* Herbert Lom as Nick Biaggi...
(1958)