Al Shean

Al Shean
Born	Abraham Elieser Adolph Schönberg (1868-05-12)12 May 1868 Dornum, Germany
Died	New York City, New York, U.S.
Other names	Adolf Schönberg Alfred Schönberg Albert Schönberg
Occupation	Comedian
Years active	1930-1944
Spouse(s)	Johanna Davidson
Children	1
Relatives	Minnie Schönberg (sister) Sam "Frenchie" Marx (brother-in-law) The Marx Brothers (nephews)

Al Shean (12 May 1868 – 12 August 1949) was the stage name for comedian Abraham Elieser Adolph Schönberg, although 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, and as the uncle of the Marx Brothers.

Biography

Shean was born in Dornum, Germany, on 12 May 1868, the son of Fanny and Levi or Louis Schoenberg. Schönberg's father was a magician. His sister, Minnie, married Sam "Frenchie" Marx; their children would become the Marx Brothers.

After making a name for himself in vaudeville, Shean teamed up with Edward Gallagher to create the act Gallagher and Shean. While the act was successful, the men apparently did not like each other much.

Shean went on to some solo film roles: as the piano player, known as "The Professor" in San Francisco (1936), as a priest in Hitler's Madman (1943), as the grandfather in The Blue Bird (1940), and in some three dozen other films. He and Gallagher also made an early sound film at the Theodore Case studio in Auburn, New York, in 1925.

He died on 12 August 1949.

Legacy

Shean's son, also named Al Shean, worked on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

See also

• Gallagher and Shean

External links

• Al Shean at Internet Broadway Database
• Al Shean at the Internet Movie Database
• Gallagher and Shean (1925) experimental sound film made by Theodore Case
• 1918 passport photo, Al Shean