Denis Shaw
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.
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Full filmography
- The Avengers (1961) as Murray
- Theatre 625 (1964) as Matvei
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955) as Butcher
- The Prisoner (1967) as Shopkeeper
- Espionage (1963) as Frohlich
- Sherlock Holmes (1964)
- International Detective (1959) as Horse Carlucci
- International Detective (1959) as Victor Prado
- The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1955) as Biggs
- Bright's Boffins (1970)
- Londoners (1965) as Louie
- The Misfit (1970) as Aircraft Passenger
- The Mummy (1959) as Mike
- Stryker of the Yard (1961)
- The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder (1969) as Wu Tong
- The Prisoner (1955) as Plainclothesman (uncredited)
- Armchair Theatre (1956) as Ziggy
- The Viking Queen (1967) as Osiris
- The Deadly Affair (1967) as Wolfe - Publican
- The Colditz Story (1955) as Priem
- The Criminal (1960) as Taxi Customer at Racetrack (uncredited)
- The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) as Gaoler
- The Hellfire Club (1961) as Sir Richard Benlow
- Carry On Regardless (1961) as Sinister Passenger (uncredited)