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Robert Shayne

Robert Shayne

Birthday: 1900-10-04 | Place of Birth: Yonkers, New York, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Shayne (October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992), born Robert Shaen Dawe, 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. 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. 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, and Without Love (1942), with Katharine Hepburn. Shayne began his film career in 1934, appearing in two features. In 1942, he became a contract actor with Warner Bros.. He played many character roles in movies and television, including a film series of Warner Bros. featurettes 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, seated at a booth in a hotel bar, where his character meets Cary Grant'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. He also enjoyed a brief rebirth in his career when he was cast as the blind newspaper vendor in The Flash television show. He was by this time actually blind and learned his lines by having his wife read them to him and then rehearse until he memorized them. 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 came under HUAC scrutiny and was briefly blacklisted on unproven and unspecific charges of association with Communism. 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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2005
The Naked Monster

as    Prof. Bradshaw

1976
The Gentleman Tramp

as    (voice)

1975
The Specialist

as    Chairman Hopkins

1960
Valley of the Redwoods

as    Capt. Sid Walker

1960
Why Must I Die

as    Charlie Munro

1960
Cage of Evil

as    Victor Delmar

1959
The Rebel Set

as    Lt. Cassidy

1959
I, Mobster

as    Senator

1958
Teenage Cave Man

as    The Fire Maker

1957
Kronos

as    Air Force General

1957
Footsteps in the Night

as    Fred Horner

1957
The Giant Claw

as    Gen. Van Buskirk

1956
Indestructible Man

as    Dr. Bradshaw

1956
Rumble on the Docks

as    Judge

1955
Murder Is My Beat

as    Bert Rawley

1955
King of the Carnival

as    Jess Carter

1954
Superman's Peril

as    Inspector Henderson

1954
Superman and Scotland Yard

as    Inspector Henderson

1954
Superman Flies Again

as    Inspector Henderson

1954
Superman and the Jungle Devil

as    Inspector Henderson

1954
Superman in Exile

as    Inspector Henderson

1953
The Neanderthal Man

as    Prof. Clifford Groves