Shaw made several musical shorts in 1939 for Vitaphone and Paramount Pictures. He portrayed himself in the Fred Astaire film, "Second Chorus" (1940), which featured Shaw and his orchestra playing "Concerto for Clarinet", and his 1940–41 Hollywood period "Star Dust" band can be heard throughout the soundtrack. The film garnered him two Oscar nominations for Best Score and Best Song ("Love of My Life"). He collaborated on the love song "If It's You", sung by Tony Martin in the Marx Brothers' film "The Big Store" (1941). In 1950, he was a mystery guest on "What's My Line?" and on August 31, 1952, was part of the panel. During the 1970s he made appearances on "The Mike Douglas Show" and "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.