Shawn Elliott

Shawn Elliott was an American actor and singer who first made his name as a vocalist, scoring a number one hit in Europe and South America in 1965 with a cover of Shame and Scandal in the Family. Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and raised in East Harlem, he recorded for Roulette and then Atlantic before turning increasingly to acting. He was best known for his stage work, including the original cast of a Jacques Brel musical and Broadway shows such as City of Angels and Marie Christine, and for playing Paco in Short Eyes (1977). Other films included Beat Street, Impulse, Double Take and Arbitrage. On television he was cast as Eduardo Fernandez, the father of the two main children, in the PBS series Ghostwriter, and he also turned up in Law and Order and Miami Vice. He was a lifetime member of The Actors Studio and won a 1998 ALMA Award for the PBS production Foto-Novelas.