Oscar Shaw

Oscar Shaw (born Oscar Schwartz; October 11, 1887 – March 6, 1967) was an American stage and screen actor and singer, best known for his role as Bob Adams in the first film starring the Marx Brothers, The Cocoanuts (1929).

He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. United States census records show that Shaw was already working as a stage actor in 1910, while still living with his mother, brother, and stepfather.

In 1913, Shaw married Mary Louise Givler (a native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania), in England, where they both appeared in a show called the "First American Ragtime Review" at the London Opera House. The couple lived in the Village of Great Neck Estates until 1937, when they moved to the Thomaston section of Great Neck, first in a private home. They later lived in an apartment building on Welwyn Road.

Shaw sold his home on 9 Myrtle Drive in March 1937, two months after he had settled a lawsuit with an actress, Florence Roberts (stage name: Etna Ross), who brought a $50,000 lawsuit against Shaw, alleging that he had thrown her down a staircase while the two worked together in a road company. It is not known whether the sale of his home was related to the settlement of the lawsuit.

Shaw's wife died March 31, 1964, at the age of 77. Shaw died on March 6, 1967, in Little Neck, Queens, New York, at the age of 79. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Birth and Death Data: Born Philadelphia (largest city in Pennsylvania, United States), Died March 6, 1967 (New York (state of the United States of America) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1916

Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 46732 10-in. 4/21/1916 I've got the blues for home sweet home Oscar Shaw Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 46781 10-in. 5/16/1916 The stormy sea of love Oscar Shaw Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 46782 10-in. 5/16/1916 Michael and his motor-cycle Oscar Shaw Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 46860 10-in. 6/20/1916 Some girls do and some girls don't Oscar Shaw Male vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Shaw, Oscar," accessed December 27, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107687.

Shaw, Oscar. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107687.

"Shaw, Oscar." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 27 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107687

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