William E. Shay

William E. Shay was an American actor of stage and silent films. He had leading roles including in The Clemenceau Case, and A Daughter of the Gods.

Biography

In 1902, Shay appeared in Martha Morton's The Diplomat at Hoyt's Theatre; and in 1909, he appeared as Baron Sokoli in the stage production of John Luther Long's Kassa at Liberty Theatre on Broadway in New York City. He also starred in the stage productions Zaza and David Belasco's Du Barry.
Shay made his film debut in 1911 at age 45, in A Manly Man. He shot almost all of his films in a ten years span. He attended the first meeting of The Screen Club in 1912, a motion picture group founded in New York City.

Filmography

A Manly Man as Duncan; extant filmWhen the Cat's Away The Girl and the Half-Back

The Long Strike Angel of Death War on the Plains
The Romance of an Old Maid
Lady Audley's Secret Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep His Hour of Triumph
Neptune's Daughter, as King William; partially extant filmThe Kreutzer Sonata, as Gregor RandarThe Heart of Maryland, as Alan KendrickThe Clemenceau Case, as Pierre ClemenceauThe Soul of Broadway, as William CraigA Fool There Was The Sin, as LuigiA Daughter of the Gods The Ruling Passion The Two Orphans as Chevalier de VaudreyThe Lone Wolf The Eternal Sin as The Duke of FerraraThe Fall of the Romanoffs, as TheofanThe Telephone Girl, as Detective