William E. Shay

Biography

William E. Shay first drew breath on 16 September 1866 amid the crowded intensity of New York City. In the flickering dawn of American cinema he stepped before the camera, lending his presence to Robespierre in 1913, then reappearing in 1915’s The Clemenceau Case and the same year’s The Two Orphans, sealing a brief but enduring place on the early silver screen.