Shayne was born in Kharkov, Russian Empire (now Kharkiv, Ukraine) to the family of Veniamin Olkenitsky-Nikulin, a Jewish actor. His siblings were actress Tamara Shayne and writers Lev and Yuriy Nikulin.^[1]

World War I 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.^{[citation needed]}

Shayne emigrated to the United States in 1928, travelling as a second-class passenger on board the S/S Berengaria, which arrived at the Port of New York on September 14, 1928. He was listed as Konstantin Schein, an artist residing in Berlin, Germany.

As an actor, Shayne performed in movies such as None but the Lonely Heart (1944)^[2][3] 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.^[4]

In his penultimate film appearance Shayne dominates two minutes of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958), playing the old bookseller Pop Leibel.^[5]

Film edit

Select TV series edit

• Mr. & Mrs. North (1 episode, 1952) – Andre Stulik
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956) (Season 1 Episode 21: "Safe Conduct") – Customs Officer Trevitch
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1958) (Season 3 Episode 25: ""Flight to the East") – Abdul Ismael
• The Outer Limits (2 episodes, 1963–1964) – Murdock – The Gardener / Dr. Philip Fletcher
• The Rogues (1 episode, 1965) – Commandant

• Konstantin Shayne at IMDb