William Johnstone (actor)

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William Johnstone
Johnstone in the trailer for Down Three Dark Streets (1953)
Born
William S. Johnstone

1908
New York City, U.S.
DiedNovember 1, 1996
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1927–1978
Spouse(s)Georgia Brady Johnstone
(m. 19??)
Children1

William S. Johnstone (1908[1] – November 1, 1996[citation needed]) was an American radio and screen actor. He is best known for his voice work as the title character on The Shadow for five seasons from 1938–1943.[2]

Early years

William S. Johnstone was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Scottish-born father and a German-born mother.[3][1] Some newspaper publicity said he was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, and came to the United States at age three.[4] He worked as a newspaper reporter before he became an actor.[5]

Career

Johnstone acted on stage with the Theatre Guild at the beginning of his career, appearing in a number of bit parts.[6][7] He had supporting roles in 1927 in Fog-Bound[8] and The Manhatters.[9] In 1928, he played the title role in Him, written by E.E. Cummings.[10] Cummings later commented, "William Johnstone made a marvelously attractive unhero ..."[10][7] He also appeared that year in a lead role in Kate Clugston's These Days.[9]: 284 

In 1938, he was selected over 45 other actors to replace Orson Welles as The Shadow on radio.

As The World Turns on television in a long run from 1956 to 1978.[13][14][unreliable source?][15][16][17][18][19]

Johnstone's other roles in radio included those shown in the table below.

Program Character
The Casebook of Gregory Hood Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor[12]: 66 
Five Star Jones Editor[12]: 119 
Inspector Mark Sabre Mark Sabre[12]: 163-164 
Maudie's Diary Maudie's father[12]: 221 
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch Bob Redding[12]: 236 
The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe Inspector Cramer[12]: 254-255 
Pepper Young's Family Sam Young[12]: 268 
Six-Gun Justice Jim Dance[20]
Valiant Lady
 Jim Barrett[12]: 346 
The Whistler The Whistler[21]: 273 
Wilderness Road Simon Weston[12]: 356 
The Woman from Nowhere Eric Wolfe[22]

He also had supporting roles in Pursuit,[21]: 206  Nick Carter, Master Detective,[21] Calamity Jane[12] and Woman from Nowhere.[12]: 358 

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.[1]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1948 All My Sons Attorney Uncredited
1948 The Decision of Christopher Blake President's Aide in Dream Uncredited
1948 Enchantment Narrator Voice
1950 Military Academy with That Tenth Avenue Gang Col. Jamison
1950 The Magnificent Yankee Lawyer Uncredited
1951 Half Angel Minister Uncredited
1951 My Favorite Spy Prentice Uncredited
1953 Titanic John Jacob Astor
1953 Beneath the 12-Mile Reef Crewman of 'Snapper' Uncredited
1954 Riding Shotgun Col. Flynn
1954 Down Three Dark Streets FBI Chief Frank Pace

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4766-3035-9
    .
  2. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "United States Census 1930", United States census, 1930; New York, New York; page 10B, line 89, enumeration district 0001-0250.
  4. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ a b Norman, Charles (1958). The magic-maker, E.E. Cummings. Macmillan. pp. 233–234.
  8. ^ "William Johnstone". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-5309-2
    . Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-1-57071-775-8
    . Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  11. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4
    .
  13. ISBN 978-1-59393-095-0
    .
  14. ^ "Radio Spirits » Blog Archive » Happy Birthday, William Johnstone!". www.radiospirits.info. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  15. ISBN 978-0-8108-7616-3
    .
  16. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7
    .
  17. ISBN 978-0-7864-3198-4
    .
  18. ISBN 978-0-7864-9005-9
    .
  19. ISBN 978-0-7864-2429-0
    .
  20. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  21. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-4324-6
    .
  22. Newspapers.com. Open access icon

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