Denis Shaw

Acting

Born April 7, 1921, Dulwich, London, England, UK

Douglas "Denis" Findlay Shaw (7 February 1921 – 28 February 1971) was a British character actor who specialized in portraying villains. Shaw was born in Dulwich on 7 February 1921. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was frequently cast as villains in films and television shows, most notably as the German guard Priem in The Colditz Story (1955), as well as a number of British horror films including Jack the Ripper (1959), The Mummy (1959) and The Curse of the Werewolf (1961). He was cast in the leading role of The Great Van Robbery (1959) as the judo-throwing Interpol detective Caesar Smith. Shaw's television credits include The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Avengers, Danger Man, Dixon of Dock Green, The Prisoner, Sherlock Holmes and Z-Cars. Shaw died from a heart attack in London on 28 February 1971, at the age of 50. A familiar face around the bars of Soho in London, he is mentioned in Keith Waterhouse's play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell.

Filmography

• Bright's Boffins
• The Misfit — Aircraft Passenger
• 1969The File of the Golden Goose — Vance
• 1969The Magnificent Six and ½: It's Not Cricket — Heavyset Workman
• The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder — Wu Tong
• 1968The Magnificent Six and ½: Kontiki Kids — Nasty Workman
• Tom Grattan's War — Koestler
• 1967The Deadly Affair — Wolfe - Publican
• The Prisoner — Shopkeeper
• 1967The Viking Queen — Osiris
• Londoners — Louie
• Sherlock Holmes
• Theatre 625 — Matvei
• Espionage — Frohlich
• 1962The Pirates of Blood River — Silver (uncredited)
• 1961Carry On Regardless — Sinister Passenger (uncredited)
• 1961Nothing Barred — Convict
• Stryker of the Yard
• The Avengers — Murray
• 1961The Curse of the Werewolf — Gaoler
• 1961The Hellfire Club — Sir Richard Benlow
• 1961Ticket to Paradise — Giuseppe
• 1960Beyond the Curtain — Krumm
• 1960The Criminal — Taxi Customer at Racetrack (uncredited)
• 1960The Night We Got the Bird — Wolfie's Stooge
• 1960Trouble with Eve — George Rigby
• 1959Innocent Meeting — Uncle
• International Detective — Horse Carlucci, Victor Prado
• 1959Jack the Ripper — Simes
• 1959Naked Fury — Captain Horst
• 1959The Great Van Robbery — Caesar Smith
• 1959The Man Who Could Cheat Death — Tavern Customer
• 1959The Mummy — Mike
• 1958A Woman Possessed — Bishop
• 1958Links of Justice — Heath
• 1958Moment of Indiscretion — Inspector Marsh
• 1958Passport to Shame — Mac
• 1958Soapbox Derby — Lender
• 1957Let's Be Happy — Fat Man in Train Corridor (uncredited)
• 1957Seven Thunders — Fat German Soldier
• 1957The Depraved — Inspector O'Flynn
• Armchair Theatre — Ziggy
• 1956Port Afrique — Grila
• 1956The Weapon — Groggins
• 1956Who Done It? — Professor Stumpf
• The Adventures of Robin Hood — Butcher (as Dennis Shaw)
• The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel — Biggs
• 1955The Colditz Story — Priem
• 1955The Prisoner — Plainclothesman (uncredited)
• 1954Forbidden Cargo — Ship's Cook
• 1953House of Blackmail — Bassett
• 1953The Long Memory — Shaw (uncredited)
• 1952Girdle of Gold — Choirmaster