Al Shean

Born: 1868-05-12

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Abraham Elieser Adolph Schönberg (12 May 1868 – 12 August 1949), known as Al Shean, was a comedian and vaudeville performer. Other sources give his birth name variously as Adolf Schönberg, Albert Schönberg, or Alfred Schönberg.[6] He is most remembered for being half of the vaudeville team Gallagher and Shean, and as the uncle of the Marx Brothers. Shean was born in Dornum, Germany, on 12 May 1868, the son of Fanny and Levi or Louis Schoenberg. His father was a magician. His sister, Minnie, married Sam "Frenchie" Marx; their children would become the Marx Brothers. After making a name for himself in vaudeville, Shean teamed up with Edward Gallagher to create the act Gallagher and Shean in the 1920s. While the act was successful, the men apparently did not like each other much. After their act's final Ziegfeld Follies pairing, Shean went on to perform solo in eight Broadway shows, even playing the title character in Father Malachy's Miracle. Shean had some solo film roles: as the piano player, known as "The Professor" in San Francisco (1936), as a priest in Hitler's Madman (1943), as grandfather in The Blue Bird (1940), and in some three dozen other films. He and Gallagher also made an early sound film at the Theodore Case studio in Auburn, New York, in 1925. He died on 12 August 1949.


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The Blue Bird

as Grandpa Tyl
Released: 1940-01-15

An ungrateful girl and her little brother are transported in their dreams by a fairy to a...

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That's Entertainment, Part II

as (archive footage)
Released: 1976-05-16

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time...

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Ziegfeld Girl

as Al
Released: 1941-04-25

Discovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life but not necessarily for the better, as three...

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San Francisco

as Professor
Released: 1936-06-26

A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days...

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Hitler's Madman

as Father Cemlanek
Released: 1943-06-10

In 1942, a young paratrooper in the RAF returns to Czechoslovakia to encourage his fellow...

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Crime Doctor

as Dave, a Convict
Released: 1943-06-22

Robert is found beside the highway with a head injury and amnesia. His amnesia motivates him to ...

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Live, Love and Learn

as Professor Fraum
Released: 1937-10-29

A starving, uncompromising artist and an heiress fall in love on first sight and immediately get...

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Too Hot to Handle

as Gumpert
Released: 1938-09-16

While in Shanghai reporting on the Sino-Japanese war, Chris Hunter, a shrewd news reporter,...

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The Great Waltz

as Cellist
Released: 1938-11-04

Composer Johann Strauss risks his marriage over his infatuation with a beautiful singer.

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The Road Back

as Markheim
Released: 1937-06-01

After the First World War a group of German soldiers try to readjust to civilian life. A sequel...

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Music in the Air

as Dr. Walter Lessing
Released: 1934-12-13

A songwriter's young daughter (June Lang) begins to dream of stardom when she's offered the lead...

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Atlantic City

as Al Shean
Released: 1944-09-15

In 1915, Atlantic City is a sleepy seaside resort, but Brad Taylor, son of a small hotel and...

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Page Miss Glory

as Mr. Hamburgher
Released: 1935-09-07

A country girl goes to the city and gets a job in a posh hotel, and winds up becoming an instant...

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It Could Happen to You

as Max 'Pa' Barrett
Released: 1937-06-28

A politically charged story about a man who dabbles in crime, with disastrous results, to gain...

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Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President

as Father Reicher
Released: 1939-12-01

Joe and Ethel Turp are up in arms when their faithful old mailman is fired. Unable to get...

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Broadway Serenade

as Herman
Released: 1939-04-07

A married singer, pianist/composer team are struggling to hit it big in New York. Finally, they...

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Hitch Hike To Heaven

as Herman Blatz
Released: 1936-03-12

A theatre actor makes the crossover to movies and becomes a star, but his new-found fame puts...

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It's in the Air

as Mr. Johnson
Released: 1935-10-10

Con men Calvin Churchill and Clip McGurk know how to fix a horse-race or boxing match. Calvin...

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Sweet Music

as Sigmund Selzer
Released: 1935-02-23

A midwest band leader and his lead singer share a love-hate relationship as they try for success...

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Traveling Saleslady

as Schmidt
Released: 1935-03-28

A toothpaste magnate's mischievous daughter, tired of her father's traditional ways of...

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Symphony of Living

as Adolph Greig
Released: 1935-01-19

Just before Adolph Greig's solo violin performance at the Cosmopolitan Orchestra, his right hand...

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Tim Tyler's Luck

as Professor Tyler
Released: 1937-12-27

A 12-episode serial in which Tim Tyler goes to Africa in search of his father in gorilla...

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At Sea Ashore

as Adolph Rumplemeyer
Released: 1936-04-04

Patsy's working at Rumplemeyer's Donut Shop in Brooklyn. By accident she catches Mr....

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Friendly Neighbors

as Doc
Released: 1940-11-17

The Weaver Brothers hit the road and taste the hobo's life in this, the sixth, entry in the...

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Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean

as Self
Released: 1931-08-29

Al Shean performs a solo version of the classic vaudeville song "Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean".

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