Monday, February 22, 2010

Black History Month Day Twenty-Two: Stan Shaw


Stan Shaw may be best know to horror fans as Sean's father's partner in The Monster Squad. Yes the detective who gets blown up in his police car by that always pesky and evil Count Dracula. While he doesn't get a ton of screen time, the character of Detective Sapir has always stayed with me as the sarcastic wise cracking partner who uttered the famous Mummy line. Although it was short lived, his role has prompted me to dive deeper into the magical world of Stan Shaw and I found a few interesting tid bits to share with you all.

For starters, Stan is actually the son of saxophonist Eddie Shaw and the cousin of the late soul singers Sam Cooke and Tyrone Davis. Emmy Doomas would sure be excited to know that since she has recently flooded my Ipod with Sam Cooke songs! Shaw also has a history in martial arts as before he became an actor, he was a karate, judo and ju jitsu instructor in Chicago. It was due to this background that allowed Shaw to take on roles as professional fighters in movies like Tough Enough, Harlem Nights and Snake Eyes. He also had a role in Rocky, a scene that eventually became a deleted scene. In the scene, Shaw played another boxer named Dipper, who was infuriated with the attention that Rocky was getting and challenged him to a fight in front of a television reporter.

His real start however began as many career do, on Broadway. Shaw first appeared in the Chicago production of Hair as well as the Broadway production of The Me Nobody Knows. Sure there isn't tons to know about Stan Shaw, but once again I am content in knowing that he had such a successful martial arts career and just goes to show that you learn something new everyday!


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