Oscar Shaw (born Oscar Schwartz, October 11, 1887, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

– died March 6, 1967, in Little Neck, New York), was a stage and screen actor and singer, remembered primarily today for his role as Bob Adams in the first film starring the Marx Bros., ''

The Cocoanuts ''The Cocoanuts'' is a 1929 pre-Code musical comedy film starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, and Zeppo Marx in his first starring role). Produced for Paramount Pictures by Walter Wanger, who is not credited, the fil ...

'' (1929). United States census records show that Shaw was already working as a stage actor in 1910, while still living with his mother, brother, and stepfather. In 1913, Shaw married Mary Louise Givler (a native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania), in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where they both appeared in a show called the "First American Ragtime Review" at the

London Opera House London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. The couple lived in the Village of Great Neck Estates, and in 1937, later moved to the Thomaston section of Great Neck, first in a private home, and later lived in an apartment building on Welwyn Road. His wife died March 31, 1964, at the age of 77. Shaw died on March 6, 1967 at the age of 79. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

. In addition to selling his Myrtle Drive home in 1937, Shaw settled a lawsuit with an actress,

Florence Roberts Florence Roberts (March 16, 1861/1864 – June 6, 1940(photo included) was an American actress of the stage and in motion pictures. Stock company actress Born in New York City, she began acting onstage there. Her career began at the Brooklyn ...

(stage name: Etna Ross), who brought a $50,000 lawsuit against Shaw, who allegedly had thrown her down a staircase while the two worked together in a road company. The suit was settled in January 1937. Shaw sold his home on 9 Myrtle Drive in March 1937. It is not known if the sale of his home was related to the settlement of the lawsuit from two months earlier that year.

Timeline

Here is a brief chronology of some of Shaw's shows and movies: *In 1915, he appeared as Dick Rivers in the Princess Theatre Show, '' Very Good, Eddie'', with music by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

and libretto by

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred ...

. *In 1917, he appeared in the Jerome Kern musical, ''

Leave It to Jane ''Leave It to Jane'' is a musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, based on the 1904 play '' The College Widow'', by George Ade. The story concerns the football rivalry between Atwater ...

'', by Kern and Bolton, with lyrics by

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

. *In 1919, he appeared as Tommy Tilford in '' The Rose of China'' with lyrics by

. *In 1920, he was Bradford Adams in the Victor Jacobi musical ''The Half Moon''. *In 1921, he appeared in three shows: '' Ziegfeld 9 O'Clock Frolic'', as Robert Barker in the

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...

and Arthur Francis ( Ira Gershwin) musical comedy, ''

Two Little Girls in Blue ''Two Little Girls in Blue'' is a musical theatre work composed by Paul Lannin and Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin (under the pseudonym "Arthur Francis") and a libretto by Fred Jackson. The musical premiered at George M. Cohan's ...

'', and as Billy van Courtland in the 1921 Kern musical, '' Good Morning, Dearie''. *In 1923, he appeared as Bastien in the play with music, ''One Kiss''. *In 1924, he appeared in two shows: as Laddie Munn in '' Dear Sir'' and in '' The Music Box Revue'', with book, music, and lyrics by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

. As a duet with Grace Moore, he sang the famous Berlin song, " All Alone", which was not written for the revue but interpolated into the show. The same year he appeared in the film, '' The Great White Way''. *In 1925, he was in the film ''

The King on Main Street ''The King on Main Street'', also known as ''The King'', is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Monta Bell and starring Adolphe Menjou and Bessie Love. The film was adapted for the screen by Bell, and was based on the play ...

'' with

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley K ...

. *In 1926, he appeared in two films, ''

Going Crooked ''Going Crooked'' is a 1926 American silent crime film produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. It was directed by George Melford and stars Bessie Love. The film is preserved at the Museum of Modern Art, the George Eastman House, ...

'' and ''

Upstage Upstage may refer to: * UpStage, an open source server-side application that has been purpose built for cyberformance * ''Upstage'' (film), (also known as The Mask of Comedy) is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film *The Upstage Gallery, feat ...

,'' and also originated the role of Jimmy Winter in the

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

and Ira Gershwin musical, '' Oh, Kay!'' with

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

and

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

. *In 1927, he appeared as Gerald Brooks in ''

The Five O'Clock Girl ''The Five O'Clock Girl'' is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, music by Harry Ruby, and lyrics by Bert Kalmar. It focuses on wealthy Beekman Place playboy Gerald Brooks and impoverished shopgirl Patricia Brown, who become ac ...

'', with Mary Eaton and in 1929, he starred as Bob Adams in the film version of the Marx Brothers’ musical, ''

'' again with Mary Eaton. Together they sang the

song, "When My Dreams Come True". *In 1930, he starred as Todd Addison in the last De Sylva,

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

and

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...

musical, '' Flying High'', with

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...

, in which he sang "Thank Your Father" and "Happy Landing". *In 1931, he appeared in the National Company of the Gershwin musical, ''

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President o ...

'' and as Steve Merrick in ''

Everybody's Welcome {{italic title ''Everybody's Welcome'' is a musical comedy with a book by Lambert Carroll, lyrics by Irving Kahal, and music by Sammy Fain. The musical has two acts and a prologue. The story is based on ''Up Pops the Devil'' by Frances Goodrich a ...

''. *In 1935, he appeared as Duke Bradford in the comedy '' A Lady Detained'', which ran for only 13 performances. *In 1936, he was in the comedy, ''A Private Affair'', which ran for 28 performances. *In 1940, he appeared as Charlie Goodrich in the

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

film, ''

Rhythm on the River ''Rhythm on the River'' is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin as ghostwriters whose songs are credited to a composer played by Basil Rathbone. Crosby and Martin sang " Only Forever ...

'', with Bing Crosby,

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

, Basil Rathbone, and

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian and actor. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for rec ...

. *In 1941, he appeared as Monte Trenton, Jr., in the play ''

Pie in the Sky Pie in the sky, an idiom meaning an impossible or unlikely idea or plan as well as an empty wish or promise. Pie in the sky may refer to: * ''Pie in the Sky'' (TV series), a UK television series about a police officer turned restaurateur * ''Pie ...

'', which ran for only 6 performances.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Oscar 1887 births 1967 deaths People from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Adams County, Pennsylvania) People from Douglaston–Little Neck, Queens