Stan Shaw
Acting • Born 1952-07-14
Biography
Stan Shaw (born July 14, 1952) is an American actor. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he is the son of Bertha Shaw and saxophonist Eddie Shaw, and cousin of the late soul singers Sam Cooke and Tyrone Davis. Shaw started his acting career in the Chicago production of the Broadway musical Hair as well as the Broadway production of The Me Nobody Knows. His last Broadway show, Via Galactica was directed by Sir Peter Hall. 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 appeared in Rocky (1976) as Dipper, another boxer. In a deleted scene, Dipper, infuriated by the attention Rocky has received, challenges him before a television reporter. He also played a professional fighter in Tough Enough (1983), Harlem Nights (1989), and Snake Eyes (1998). 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 highly notable role was Private Washington in The Boys in Company C (1978). Shaw also played in The Great Santini (1979) as Toomer Smalls with Robert Duvall and David Keith. 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 with Geena Davis. His television credits include episodes of Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, The X-Files, and a 2009 episode of CSI. Description above from the Wikipedia article Stan Shaw, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
70 credits
Cutthroat Island
Movie • 1995
Glasspoole
Body of Evidence
Movie • 1993
Charles Biggs
Freedom Song
Movie • 2000
Archie Mullen
The Great Santini
Movie • 1979
Toomer Smalls
Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story
Movie • 1986
Harold Moss
Rising Sun
Movie • 1993
Phillips
Snake Eyes
Movie • 1998
Lincoln Tyler
Detonator
Movie • 2003
Robert Brickland
The Boys in Company C
Movie • 1978
Pfc / Sgt. Tyrone Washington
The Monster Squad
Movie • 1987
Detective Sapir
Tough Enough
Movie • 1983
P.T. Coolidge
Fear
Movie • 1990
Detective Webber
Darktown Strutters
Movie • 1975
Raunchy
Billionaire Boys Club
Movie • 1987
Frank Booker
TNT Jackson
Movie • 1974
Charlie
Scared Straight! Another Story
Movie • 1980
Carl Jones
Lifepod
Movie • 1993
Parker
Fried Green Tomatoes
Movie • 1991
Big George
Runaway
Movie • 1984
Marvin
Daylight
Movie • 1996
George Tyrell
The Gladiator
Movie • 1986
Joe Barker
Truck Turner
Movie • 1974
Fontana
Rocky
Movie • 1976
Dipper
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson
Movie • 1990
Joe Louis
Under Siege
Movie • 1986
Nick Tutman
Displaced Person
Movie • 1985
Sergeant
A Nashville Legacy
Movie • 2023
Franklin Berryhall
Drive Me to Vegas and Mars
Movie • 2018
Cowboy
Street Killing
Movie • 1976
Mitchell Small
Clear Lines of Sight: Sidney J. Furie at Paramount
Movie • 2023
Himself
Red River
Movie • 1988
Jack Byrd
Jeepers Creepers 3
Movie • 2017
Sheriff Tashtego
Rag and Bone
Movie • 1998
Det. Ritchie
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic
Movie • 2013
Self
When Love Kills: The Seduction of John Hearn
Movie • 1993
Gerst
Harlem Nights
Movie • 1989
Jack Jenkins
Cassidy Way
Movie • 2016
Kane
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
Movie • 1976
Esquire Joe
The Pale Door
Movie • 2020
Lester
A Christmas Winter Song
Movie • 2019
Fred
When Dreams Come True
Movie • 1985
Harry Jenks
The Three Kings
Movie • 1987
Paul
Venice Medical
Movie • 1983
Houseguest
Movie • 1995
Larry the Tattoo Artist
Busted Up
Movie • 1986
Angie
Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes
Movie • 1998
Self
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Det. Sgt. Vince Lofton
L.A. Law
TV • 1986
Terry Slueman
Starsky & Hutch
TV • 1975
Leotis
Fame
TV • 1982
Matlock
TV • 1986
Cyrus Jordan
Hill Street Blues
TV • 1981
The X-Files
TV • 1993
Stephen Murdoch
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
TV • 2000
Geoff Johnson
Wiseguy
TV • 1987
Lucan
TV • 1977
Matt Houston
TV • 1982
Roots: The Next Generations
TV • 1979
Will Palmer
The Mississippi
TV • 1983
Lafayette 'Lafe' Tate
Early Edition
TV • 1996
Earl Camby
North and South
TV • 1985
Isaac
Billionaire Boys Club
TV • 1987
Frank Booker
Carl Weber's The Family Business
TV • 2018
Larry Duncan
What Lives Inside
TV • 2015
Soot (voice)
The Family Business: New Orleans
TV • 2025
Larry Duncan
Quantum Leap
TV • 2022
Eli Jackson
Chicago Med
TV • 2015
Dr. George Thomas
Criminal Minds
TV • 2005
Albert Lewis
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Eddie Walters
Roots: The Next Generations
TV • 1979
Will Palmer (archive footage)