Stars & Players · Biography

Konstantin Shayne

1888–1974 · Actor

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Konstantin Shayne (November 29, 1888 – November 15, 1974) was an actor from the Russian Empire who emigrated to the United States.

Born in Kharkov, Russian Empire, to the family of a Jewish actor Veniamin Olkenitsky-Nikulin, he was the brother of actress Tamara Shayne and Russian writers Lev Nikulin and Yuriy Nikulin.[1] The First World War intervened before he could join the Moscow Arts Theatre, and during the conflict he fought with General Wrangel and the White Armies. Shayne was married two times and he also had children.

As an actor, Konstantin Shayne performed in movies such as None but the Lonely Heart (1944) and The Stranger (1946), starring (and directed by) Orson Welles. He performed in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) which featured Danny Kaye in the lead role. His performance in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) was cut from the final release. In his last film appearance Shayne dominates two minutes of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Vertigo, playing the old bookseller Pop Leibel.

Notable Noir Roles

Escape in the Fog

1945Dir. Budd Boetticher · Schiller

A military nurse recovering at an inn from a nervous breakdown keeps having dreams where she sees two men trying to murder a third. When she meets a man who is a federal agent at the inn, she is astou…

The Stranger

1946Dir. Orson Welles · Konrad Meinike

An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi, who may be hiding out in a small town in the guise of a distinguished professor engaged to the Supreme C…

The Price of Fear

1956Dir. Abner Biberman · Bolasny

A co-owner of a race track goes on the run after witnessing something he shouldn't have at the track.

Full Noir Filmography

3 films · 1945–1956