Bio
William "Bill" Johnstone had a long career in radio and television, but is perhaps best known for his five seasons as Lamont Cranston, alias The Shadow on the long-running radio mystery show.
Bill Johnstone was a hard-working radio character actor whose distinctive voice was well-suited to characters of standing and society. He was a regular guest on The Shadow during Orson Welles' tenure on the show. In fact, Johnstone plays Paul Gordon, an innocent man sentenced to die in the electric chair who is rescued by the Shadow in the series' first episode.
After only one year in the role, Welles left The Shadow to star and produce his own series, The Mercury Theatre On the Air. (Interestingly, for the October 30, 1938 broadcast of The Shadow, much of the regular cast was absent, as they were across town helping Welles stage his legendary "War of the Worlds" broadcast.) Johnstone was selected as his replacement, and stepped into the role in 1939. Co-starring with Agnes Moorehead, and later with Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane, Johnstone made the role his own during his five seasons on the show. The character of the Shadow was toned down, and Johnstone gave the character of Cranston a stronger authority that Welles lacked. Though the scripts themselves were still full of murder and mayhem, the Shadow no longer killed his enemies. The tone and style set by Johnstone would influence the actors who followed him in the role.
After he left The Shadow, Johnstone was heard as a regular player on Cavalcade of America. He worked as a character actor on a number of shows, including Suspense, Dragnet, Nightbeat and could be heard for a season as Inspector Cramer opposite Sydney Greenstreet on NBC's The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe. He was the star of Blake Edwards' police procedural The Line-up, and later took on the role of another popular radio character when he became The Whistler.
Though he did not find great success in films, Johnstone fared better on TV. For twenty years, he played Judge Lowell as part of the original cast of As the World Turns.
Bill Johnstone was a hard-working radio character actor whose distinctive voice was well-suited to characters of standing and society. He was a regular guest on The Shadow during Orson Welles' tenure on the show. In fact, Johnstone plays Paul Gordon, an innocent man sentenced to die in the electric chair who is rescued by the Shadow in the series' first episode.
After only one year in the role, Welles left The Shadow to star and produce his own series, The Mercury Theatre On the Air. (Interestingly, for the October 30, 1938 broadcast of The Shadow, much of the regular cast was absent, as they were across town helping Welles stage his legendary "War of the Worlds" broadcast.) Johnstone was selected as his replacement, and stepped into the role in 1939. Co-starring with Agnes Moorehead, and later with Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane, Johnstone made the role his own during his five seasons on the show. The character of the Shadow was toned down, and Johnstone gave the character of Cranston a stronger authority that Welles lacked. Though the scripts themselves were still full of murder and mayhem, the Shadow no longer killed his enemies. The tone and style set by Johnstone would influence the actors who followed him in the role.
After he left The Shadow, Johnstone was heard as a regular player on Cavalcade of America. He worked as a character actor on a number of shows, including Suspense, Dragnet, Nightbeat and could be heard for a season as Inspector Cramer opposite Sydney Greenstreet on NBC's The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe. He was the star of Blake Edwards' police procedural The Line-up, and later took on the role of another popular radio character when he became The Whistler.
Though he did not find great success in films, Johnstone fared better on TV. For twenty years, he played Judge Lowell as part of the original cast of As the World Turns.
