David Shaw

Though most commonly recognized for his authorship of the hit comedy If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969) -- a kind of Mad, Mad World-style farce about a bunch of nutty international tourists hotfooting it through Europe -- screenwriter David Shaw actually qualified as one of the most vital contributors of television scripts in the early days of the medium. The younger brother of playwright and novelist Irwin Shaw, David followed the elder's lead by migrating to Los Angeles and launching his career scripting myriad episodes of such anthology series as Philco Television Playhouse and Playhouse 90. 1958's The Man Inside, a caper-themed adventure about the exploits of a jewel thief (Nigel Patrick), marked Shaw's debut as a scenarist of features; he landed an additional big-screen credit in the early '70s, with King, Queen, Knave (1972). In addition to his feature and television work, Shaw culled a tremendous amount of respect as a Broadway playwright, on such productions as Redhead and Tovarich. In 2003, he appeared in David Zeiger's acclaimed HBO documentary Funny Old Guys, about the decades-old friendships between a number of legendary Hollywood writers.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide