Biography.guide
Home › People › Actor › Denis Shaw
Portrait of Denis Shaw

Denis Shaw

1921 – 1971

British actor

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Denis Shaw

Lived 1921 – 1971 (aged 49). Denis Shaw was a British actor and television actor.

Douglas "Denis" Findlay Shaw (7 February 1921 – 28 February 1971) was a British character actor who specialized in portraying villains.

Biography 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

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

People in Denis Shaw's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Denis Shaw's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Denis Shaw?

British actor (1921-1971)

When was Denis Shaw born?

Denis Shaw was born on 7 April 1921 in Dulwich.

When did Denis Shaw die?

Denis Shaw died on 28 February 1971 in London.

What was Denis Shaw's occupation?

Denis Shaw was an actor and television actor.

What nationality was Denis Shaw?

Denis Shaw was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Denis Shaw

· Wikidata: Q5257511

· DBpedia: Denis Shaw

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Denis Shaw. https://biography.guide/denis-shaw/

MLA: "Denis Shaw." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/denis-shaw/.

Chicago: "Denis Shaw." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/denis-shaw/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:30 UTC