Denis Shaw
Actor
Biography
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
The Curse of the Werewolf
as Gaoler 1961
The Deadly Affair
as Wolfe - Publican 1967
The Man Who Could Cheat Death
as Tavern Customer 1959
The Colditz Story
as Priem 1955
Carry On Regardless
as Sinister Passenger (uncredited) 1961
The Criminal
as Taxi Customer at Racetrack (uncredited) 1960
The Pirates of Blood River
as Silver (uncredited) 1962
Jack the Ripper
as Simes 1959
The Prisoner
as Plainclothesman (uncredited) 1955
The Viking Queen
as Osiris 1967
The Long Memory
as Shaw (uncredited) 1953
The Weapon
as Groggins 1956
The File of the Golden Goose
as Vance 1969
Who Done It?
as Professor Stumpf 1956
Seven Thunders
as Fat German Soldier 1957
Passport to Shame
as Mac 1958