---
name: "Al Shean"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/al-shean"
roles: []
born: "12 May 1868"
died: "12 August 1949"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-19T23:19:53.136774+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Al Shean

Actor. Born 12 May 1868 in Dornum, Germany. Died 12 August 1949.

## Details

- **Born:** 12 May 1868, Dornum, Germany
- **Died:** 12 August 1949
- **Also known as:** Abraham Elieser Adolph Schoenberg, Al Shearer
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Shean, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q77570, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0790383/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1027241

## Biography

Al Shean (born Abraham Elieser Adolph Schönberg) was a German-born American comedian and vaudeville performer. He was half of the successful vaudeville team Gallagher and Shean, which appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies, and later performed solo in several Broadway productions, including the title role in *Father Malachy's Miracle* (1937).

Shean appeared in more than thirty films between 1934 and 1943. He is credited as the Professor in *San Francisco* (1936), as Grandpa Tyl in *The Blue Bird* (1940), and in roles such as a priest in *Hitler's Madman* (1943). He was the uncle of the Marx Brothers.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, catalog.afi.com, rottentomatoes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *San Francisco* (1936), Fi1m 71, as Professor — [page](https://film.one/film/san-francisco.md)

## Complete filmography (26)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *That's Entertainment, Part II* (1976), as (archive footage)
- *Atlantic City* (1944), as Al Shean
- *Crime Doctor* (1943), as Dave, a Convict
- *Hitler's Madman* (1943), as Father Cemlanek
- *The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady* (1942), as Old Dann
- *Ziegfeld Girl* (1941), as Al, Songs
- *Friendly Neighbors* (1940), as Doc
- *The Blue Bird* (1940), as Grandpa Tyl
- *Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President* (1939), as Father Reicher
- *Broadway Serenade* (1939), as Herman
- *The Great Waltz* (1938), as Cellist
- *Too Hot to Handle* (1938), as Gumpert
- *Tim Tyler's Luck* (1937), as Professor Tyler
- *Live, Love and Learn* (1937), as Professor Fraum
- *It Could Happen to You* (1937), as Max 'Pa' Barrett
- *The Road Back* (1937), as Markheim
- *San Francisco* (1936), as Professor — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/san-francisco.md)
- *At Sea Ashore* (1936), as Adolph Rumplemeyer
- *Hitch Hike To Heaven* (1936), as Herman Blatz
- *It's in the Air* (1935), as Mr. Johnson
- *Page Miss Glory* (1935), as Mr. Hamburgher
- *Traveling Saleslady* (1935), as Schmidt
- *Sweet Music* (1935), as Sigmund Selzer
- *Symphony of Living* (1935), as Adolph Greig
- *Music in the Air* (1934), as Dr. Walter Lessing
- *Chills and Fever* (1930), as Betty's Uncle Emil

## Gallery

- ![Al Shean](https://film.one/media/person/1229320/gallery-19713acdc62e.jpg) Al Shean — unknown (20th Century Fox), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Al_Shean_in_The_Blue_Bird.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean, vaudeville comedy duo. Photo by Strand, NY](https://film.one/media/person/1229320/gallery-21bd708ebe05.jpg) Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean, vaudeville comedy duo. Photo by Strand, NY — Strand, NY, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Mr._Galllagher_and_Mr._Shean_Nvasouvenir192307nati_0317.jpg/1280px-Mr._Galllagher_and_Mr._Shean_Nvasouvenir192307nati_0317.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/al-shean