Shawn Ell Obituary

[News release | Pictorialism]

To give a more complete account of Shawn's life, click here.

Shawn Ell was born on July 26, 1969, in Texas City, Texas. His parents were Bobbi and John Ell. He has three brothers and a sister. Shawn Ell attended Trinity University, where he majored in astronomy. After graduation he continued to work with telescopes and by 1987 he started to do his own high-school astronomy programs. In 1989, Shawn Ell transferred to Waco Central High School (the current McLennan County High School District). At Central he continued his astronomy programs and played football. In 1992, Shawn Ell transferred to an acting school in El Paso. By 1995 he had his first major role. In 1996 he started attending the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in broadcast journalism.

In August of 1997, Shawn Ell graduated from college and wanted to go back to acting. He started out in small roles at the now-defunct local television show “One Minute Christmas" and went on to do some theater. In 1999, Shawn Ell moved to Hartford, Connecticut and found himself doing roles in TV movies (in two of which he helped to direct). In January, 2000, he got his first break in TV and he came out with the role of Logan in “The Good Son" which also netted him a film credit. In June of 2000, Shawn Ell moved away from Connecticut and started to shoot for TV shows like “Law and Order,” “State Supreme" and “Girlfriends."

In January of 2005 Shawn Ell moved to Los Angeles. He went to audition for roles in “Ghost Whisperer" and “ER" but did not get the roles. He went to work for a feature film at Empire Pictures, but by late 2006, he was taking care of different projects in Los Angeles. In July of 2006, he found himself starring in “Vegas Golden Girls" which was a rather good summer fling for him. In July of 2007, he was working on his first leading man role in a film called “The Real Thing.” It starred Robert DeNiro, Adam Sandler, and Chazz Palminteri and was called “Two Boats in the River/Alligator Canyon.