Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw (born Oscar Schwartz, October 11, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – died March 6, 1967, in Little Neck, Queens, New York City, 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 Brothers, The Cocoanuts (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, where they both appeared in a show called the "First American Ragtime Review" at the London Opera House. 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. Shaw sold his home on 9 Myrtle Drive in March 1937, two months after he had settled a lawsuit with an actress, Florence Roberts (stage name: Etna Ross), who brought a $50,000 lawsuit against Shaw, alleging that he had thrown her down a staircase while the two worked together in a road company. It is not known whether the sale of his home was related to the settlement of the lawsuit. Shaw's 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. |
Birth and Death Data: Born October 11, 1887 (Philadelphia), Died March 6, 1967 (New York)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1916
Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 46732 | 10-in. | 4/21/1916 | I've got the blues for home sweet home | Oscar Shaw | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 46781 | 10-in. | 5/16/1916 | The stormy sea of love | Oscar Shaw | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 46782 | 10-in. | 5/16/1916 | Michael and his motor-cycle | Oscar Shaw | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Columbia | 46860 | 10-in. | 6/20/1916 | Some girls do and some girls don't | Oscar Shaw | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Shaw, Oscar," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107687.
Shaw, Oscar. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107687.
"Shaw, Oscar." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Shaw, Oscar - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n97859075
Wikidata: Oscar Shaw - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1386057
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.