Career and Life

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Stan Shawis an American actor.

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Shaw is the son of Bertha Shaw and saxophonist Eddie Shaw, and cousin of the late soul singers Sam Cooke and Tyrone Davis. His brother is Vaan Shaw, a guitarist.

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Shaw started his acting career in the Chicago production of the musical Hair as well as the Broadway production of The Me Nobody Knows. His last Broadway show, Via Galactica was directed by Peter Hall.

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Before becoming an actor, Shaw was a karate, judo, and jujutsu instructor in Chicago. He holds first dan black belt in judo and jujutsu and a second dan in karate. Shaw appears in The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings in 1976 as Esquire Joe Calloway. Shaw appears also in Rocky (1976) as Dipper, a rival boxer who taunts Rocky after being given his locker. In a deleted scene, a furious Dipper interrupts a TV interview at the gym and ends up getting beaten after demanding Rocky kiss his foot. He also plays a professional fighter in Tough Enough (1983), Harlem Nights (1989), and Snake Eyes (1998).

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One of his most notable roles was his appearance as Alex Haley's maternal grandfather Will Palmer in the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generations. Another notable role was Private Washington in The Boys in Company C (1978). Shaw also plays Toomer Smalls in The Great Santini (1979). After a part in the 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes, he had a role in the 1995 comedy Houseguest, alongside Sinbad, and appeared as a pirate in Cutthroat Island (1995) with Geena Davis. He appeared as George Tyrell in the 1996 disaster film Daylight and as Archie Mullen in the film Freedom Song (2000).

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Shaw's television credits include episodes of Starsky & Hutch, The Moneychangers, Matlock, The Young Riders, Hill Street Blues, Murder, She Wrote, The X-Files, and a 2009 episode of CSI. He had a regular role in the 1983 TV series The Mississippi. He also appeared as Isaac in the miniseries North and South.

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Shaw is working on a film project, Gargoyle Bob, with Vincent Ho and Ted Boonthanakit. They plan to also create a graphic novel of the story. Source.