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Robert Shayne (born Robert Shaen Dawe, October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992) was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series '' Adventures of Superman.''


Early years

Shayne was born in Yonkers, New York. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Grosvenor Dawe, and he had a brother, Allen Shaen Dawe. His father was one of the founders of the
United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business association advocacy group and is the largest lobbying group in the United States. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President Will ...
. Shayne left
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
in his senior year so that his brother could go to college. For a time, he lived in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
, writing advertising copy for a women's clothing store by day and acting in a stock theater company at night. When the store went out of business, he began acting full-time.


Career

Shayne became an actor after having worked as a reporter at the ''Illustrated Daily Tab'' in Miami, Florida. His initial acting experience came with repertory companies in Alabama, including the Birmingham Players.


Stage

Shayne's first Broadway appearance came by 1931 in ''The Rap''. His other Broadway shows include '' Yellow Jack'' (1934), '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1935), ''Whiteoaks'' (1938), with
Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...
, and '' Without Love'' (1942), with
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...
.


Film

Shayne began his film career in 1934, appearing in two features. In 1942, he became a contract actor with
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
He played many character roles in movies and television, including a
film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...
of Warner Bros.
featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...
s called the "Santa Fe Trail" series such as '' Wagon Wheels West'', and as a mad scientist in the 1953 horror film '' The Neanderthal Man''. He appears briefly in Alfred Hitchcock's ''
North by Northwest ''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason. The original screenplay written by Ernest Lehman was intended to be the basis for ...
'', seated at a booth in a hotel bar, where his character meets
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...
's character, just as the latter is about to be kidnapped. He also had a small but pivotal role in the 1953 sci-fi classic '' Invaders From Mars'' as a scientist. Shayne enjoyed a brief rebirth in his career when he was cast as the blind newspaper vendor in ''
The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
'' television show.


Television

Shayne portrayed Police Inspector William "Bill" Henderson on the 1950s TV series ''Adventures of Superman''. He appeared sporadically in the early episodes of the series, in part because he was accused by his second wife Mary Sheffield, and came under
HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...
scrutiny and was briefly blacklisted on unproven and unspecific charges of association with
Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
. As the program evolved, especially in the color episodes, he was brought into more and more of them, to the point where he was a regular on the series.


Personal life

Shayne married Mary Crouch in 1925. They had one daughter, but divorced in 1933. In 1933, he married Mary Sheffield. They also had one daughter, and divorced in 1943. In 1943, he married Elizabeth McDonald, with whom he had 2 more children. They remained married until his death in 1992.


Death

Shayne died in 1992 of lung cancer at the Motion Picture Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. He was 92 years old. Shayne was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California.


Selected filmography

* '' Keep 'Em Rolling'' (1934) - Major James Parker * '' Wednesday's Child'' (1934) - Howard Benson * '' The People's Enemy'' (1935) - First Department of Justice Representative (uncredited) * ''
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'' (1943) - Engineer (uncredited) * '' Shine On Harvest Moon'' (1944) - Dan Costello * '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944) - MacMahon * ''
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'' (1944 short) - Chaplain aka 'Padre' * '' Make Your Own Bed'' (1944) - Lester Knight * '' Roaring Guns'' (1944) - Jared Whitney * '' Hollywood Canteen'' (1944) - Busboy (uncredited) * '' Escape in the Desert'' (1945) - Radio Newscaster (voice, uncredited) * ''
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'' (1945) - Christine's Escort (uncredited) * '' Christmas in Connecticut'' (1945) - Dudley Beecham * ''
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'' (1945) - Captain Morgan * '' The Face of Marble'' (1946) - Dr. David Cochran * ''
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'' (1946) - Bertram Fallon * '' I Ring Doorbells'' (1946) - Dick Meadows * '' Behind the Mask'' (1946) - Brad Thomas * '' Nobody Lives Forever'' (1946) - Chet King * '' Wife Wanted'' (1946) - Bill Tyler * ''
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'' (1947) - Chief Tom Blake * '' Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman'' (1947) - Mr. Gordon * ''
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'' (1947) - James O'Neil * ''
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'' (1947) - Roy Chesley * '' The Spirit of West Point'' (1947) - Col. Earl 'Red' Blaik * '' The Swordsman'' (1948) - Ronald MacArden * '' The Inside Story'' (1948) - T.W. 'Tom' O'Connor * '' Best Man Wins'' (1948) - Judge Leonidas K. Carter * '' Shaggy'' (1948) - Bob Calvin * '' The Strange Mrs. Crane'' (1948) - Floyd Durant * '' Let's Live a Little'' (1948) - Dr. Richard Field * '' Loaded Pistols'' (1948) - Don Mason * '' Law of the Barbary Coast'' (1949) - Michael Lodge * '' Forgotten Women'' (1949) - Richard Marshall * '' The Threat'' (1949) - Police Insp. Murphy * '' Dynamite Pass'' (1950) - Jay Wingate * '' Customs Agent'' (1950) - West Coast Chief Agent J.G. Goff * '' Rider from Tucson'' (1950) - John Avery * '' State Penitentiary'' (1950) - Stanley Brown * '' Federal Man'' (1950) - Chief Agent Charles Stuart * '' When You're Smiling'' (1950) - Jack Lacey * '' Big Timber'' (1950) - Dixon * '' Experiment Alcatraz'' (1950) - Barry Morgan * '' Missing Women'' (1951) - Cincotta * '' The Dakota Kid'' (1951) - Ace Crandall * '' Criminal Lawyer'' (1951) - Clark P. Sommers * '' Indian Uprising'' (1952) - Maj. Nathan Stark * '' Without Warning!'' (1952) - Dr. Werner, Police Psychiatrist * '' And Now Tomorrow'' (1952) * '' The Ring'' (1952) - Jimmy - Aragon's Manager * '' Mr. Walkie Talkie'' (1952) - Capt. Burke * '' Marshal of Cedar Rock'' (1953) - Paul Jackson / Fake John Harper * ''
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'' (1953) - S3/E31 "Black Gold" - Spinner * '' Prince of Pirates'' (1953) - Prime Minister Treeg * ''
The Blue Gardenia ''The Blue Gardenia'' is a 1953 American film noir starring Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, and Ann Sothern. Directed by Fritz Lang from a screenplay by Charles Hoffman, it is based on the novella ''The Gardenia'' by Vera Caspary. An indepe ...
'' (1953) - Doctor (uncredited) * '' The Lady Wants Mink'' (1953) - Cecil * '' Invaders from Mars'' (1953) - Dr. Bill Wilson (uncredited) * '' The Neanderthal Man'' (1953) - Prof. Clifford Groves * '' Sea of Lost Ships'' (1953) - Executive Officer (uncredited) * ''
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'' (1953) - Surgeon (uncredited) * '' Trader Tom of the China Seas'' (1954) - Maj. Conroy * '' The Desperado'' (1954) - Prosecutor (uncredited) * '' Tobor the Great'' (1954) - General #1 (uncredited) * '' Murder Is My Beat'' (1955) - Police Captain Bert Rawley * ''
The Eternal Sea ''The Eternal Sea'' (aka ''The Admiral Hoskins Story'') is a 1955 American biographical war film directed by John H. Auer and starring Sterling Hayden, Alexis Smith and Ben Cooper. The film follows the career of Captain John Hoskins, who lose ...
'' (1955) - Cmdr. Dean (uncredited) * ''
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'' (1955) - Mr. Ross (uncredited) * '' King of the Carnival'' (1955) - Jess Carter * ''
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'' (1956) - Prof. Bradshaw * '' Rumble on the Docks'' (1956) - Judge (uncredited) * ''
Accused of Murder ''Accused of Murder'' is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed by Joseph Kane and starring David Brian, Vera Ralston and Sidney Blackmer. Plot Nightclub singer Ilona Vance is accused of murder because she was the last person to see croo ...
'' (1956) - Doctor (uncredited) * '' Dance with Me, Henry'' (1956) - Proctor * '' Hot Shots'' (1956) - Pierre M. Morley * '' Kronos'' (1957) -Air Force General * '' Footsteps in the Night'' (1957) - Fred Horner * '' The Giant Claw'' (1957) - Gen. Van Buskirk * '' Spook Chasers'' (1957) - Police Lt. Harris * '' Death in Small Doses'' (1957) - FDA Chief Insp. Frank Ainsley (uncredited) * '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952-1958, TV Series) - Inspector Launay / Police Inspector Bill Henderson * '' War of the Satellites'' (1958) - Cole Hotchkiss * '' Teenage Cave Man'' (1958) - The Fire Maker * '' How to Make a Monster'' (1958) - Gary Droz * '' The Lost Missile'' (1958) - Air Force General (uncredited) * ''
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'' (1958) - Mickey (uncredited) * '' I Mobster'' (1958) - Senator * '' The Rebel Set'' (1959) - Lt. Cassidy * ''
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'' (1959) - Larry Wade (uncredited) * '' Battle Flame'' (1959) - Lt. Norris * '' Toby Tyler'' (1960) - Husband in Audience (uncredited) * '' Valley of the Redwoods'' (1960) - Capt. Sid Walker * '' Why Must I Die?'' (1960) - Charlie Munro * '' Cage of Evil'' (1960) - Victor Delmar * ''
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'' (1960) - Partner (uncredited) * '' 20,000 Eyes'' (1961) - Police Lieutenant * ''
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'' (1963) - Defense Secretary's Assistant (uncredited) * '' A Tiger Walks'' (1964) - Governor's Adviser (uncredited) * '' Runaway Girl'' (1965) - Walter Quillen * ''
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'' (1969) - Well-Wisher at Indy Victory (uncredited) * '' The Arrangement'' (1969) - Board Member (uncredited) * '' Tora! Tora! Tora!'' (1970) - Cmdr. William H. Buracker - Halsey's Operations Officer (uncredited) * '' The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go'' (1970) - U.S. Senator (uncredited) * ''
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'' (1971) - Sponsor * '' The Million Dollar Duck'' (1971) - Refinery Executive (uncredited) * '' Cool Breeze'' (1972) - Dr. Fields, Gynocologist (uncredited) * ''
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'' (1975) - Chairman Hopkins * '' The Four Deuces'' (1975) - Vince


References


External links

* * *
Robert Shayne as a young stage actor
New York Public Library, Billy Rose Collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shayne, Robert 1900 births 1992 deaths American male television actors American male film actors Deaths from lung cancer in California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors