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Abraham Elieser Adolph Schönberg (May 12, 1868 – August 12, 1949), known as Al Shean, was a comedian and
Shean was born in
''Gallagher and Shean'' (1925) experimental sound film made by Theodore Case1918 passport photo, Al Shean
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shean, Al 1868 births 1949 deaths People from Aurich (district) American male comedians Comedians from New York City Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Jewish American male actors American vaudeville performers 20th-century American male actors Jewish American comedians 20th-century American comedians Comedians from Lower Saxony
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
performer. Other sources give his birth name variously as Adolf Schönberg, Albert Schönberg, or Alfred Schönberg. He is most remembered for being half of the vaudeville team Gallagher and Shean
Gallagher & Shean was a highly successful musical comedy double act in vaudeville and on Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s, consisting of Ed Gallagher (1873–1929) and Al Shean (1868–1949); Shean was the maternal uncle of the Marx Brothers.
C ...
, and as the uncle of the Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...
( Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx, Adolph (Arthur) "Harpo" Marx, Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx, Milton "Gummo" Marx and Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx).
Biography
Shean was born in Dornum
Dornum is a village and a municipality in the East Frisian district of Aurich, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located near the North Sea coast, approx. 15 km east of Norden, and 20 km north of Aurich.
Division of the municipality
The ...
, Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
on May 12, 1868, the son of Fanny and Levi or Louis Schoenberg. His father was a magician. His sister, Minnie
As a first name, Minnie is a feminine given name. It can be a diminutive (hypocorism) of Minerva, Winifred, Wilhelmina, Willemina, Winona, Margaret, Hermione, Jasmine, Mary, Miriam, Maria, Marie, Naomi, Miranda, Clementine, Dominique, Dom ...
, married Sam "Frenchie" Marx; their sons would become known as the Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...
.
After making a name for himself in vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
, Shean teamed up with Edward Gallagher to create the act Gallagher and Shean
Gallagher & Shean was a highly successful musical comedy double act in vaudeville and on Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s, consisting of Ed Gallagher (1873–1929) and Al Shean (1868–1949); Shean was the maternal uncle of the Marx Brothers.
C ...
. While the act was successful, the men apparently did not like each other much. After their act's final Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...
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
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
'' (1936), as grandfather in '' The Blue Bird'' (1940), as a priest in '' Hitler's Madman'' (1943), and in some three dozen other films. He and Gallagher also made an early sound film
A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...
at the Theodore Case
Theodore Willard Case (December 12, 1888 – May 13, 1944) was an American chemist who invented the Movietone sound system, Movietone sound-on-film, sound-on-sound film, film system.
Early life and education
Case was born on December 12, 1 ...
studio in Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
, in 1925.
He died on August 12, 1949.
Legacy
Shean's son, also named Al Shean, worked on ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC tel ...
''.
Shean is reputed to have written the Marx Brothers' first (moderately) successful vaudeville sketch on butcher paper at Minnie and Frenchie's kitchen table one night while he was visiting.
Filmography
See also
*Gallagher and Shean
Gallagher & Shean was a highly successful musical comedy double act in vaudeville and on Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s, consisting of Ed Gallagher (1873–1929) and Al Shean (1868–1949); Shean was the maternal uncle of the Marx Brothers.
C ...
References
External links
* *''Gallagher and Shean'' (1925) experimental sound film made by Theodore Case
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shean, Al 1868 births 1949 deaths People from Aurich (district) American male comedians Comedians from New York City Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Jewish American male actors American vaudeville performers 20th-century American male actors Jewish American comedians 20th-century American comedians Comedians from Lower Saxony