William S. Johnstone (1908 – November 1, 1996) was an American radio and screen actor. He is best known for his voice work as the title character on ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

'' for five seasons from 19381943.

Early years

William S. Johnstone was born and raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City, to a Scottish-born father and a German-born mother. Some newspaper publicity said he was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, and came to the United States at age three. He worked as a newspaper reporter before he became an actor.

Career

Johnstone acted on stage with the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of th ...

at the beginning of his career, appearing in a number of bit parts. He had supporting roles in 1927 in ''Fog-Bound'' and ''The Manhatters''. In 1928, he played the title role in '' Him'', written by E.E. Cummings. Cummings later commented, "William Johnstone made a marvelously attractive unhero ..." He also appeared that year in a lead role in Kate Clugston's ''These Days.'' In 1938, he was selected over 45 other actors to replace Orson Welles as The Shadow on radio. He also starred as Ben Guthrie in the radio version of '' The Lineup'', and became one of the most prolific radio actors of his time, with many supporting roles. He had a memorable role in the ".22 Rifle for Christmas" episode of '' Dragnet'' on radio, and reprised it on the television series. In film, he portrayed

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sink ...

in ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

'', and had a supporting role in ''

Down Three Dark Streets ''Down Three Dark Streets'' is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Arnold Laven and starring Broderick Crawford and Ruth Roman. The screenplay was written by Gordon Gordon and Mildred Gordon, based on their novel ''Case File FBI'' ...

''. He played Judge James T. Lowell in ''

As The World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...

'' on television in a long run from 1956 to 1978. Johnstone's other roles in radio included those shown in the table below. He also had supporting roles in ''Pursuit'', ''

Nick Carter, Master Detective ''Nick Carter, Master Detective'' was a Mutual radio crime drama based on tales of the fictional private detective Nick Carter from Street & Smith's dime novels and pulp magazines. Nick Carter first came to radio as ''The Return of Nick Carte ...

'', ''Calamity Jane'' and ''Woman from Nowhere''.

Personal life

Johnstone was married to Georgia Brady Johnstone, a former dancer who became friend and secretary to his ''The Shadow'' co-star

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

Filmography

References

External links

* 1908 births 1996 deaths American male radio actors Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub