Lloyd Nolan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer of Irish descent. He attended Santa Clara Preparatory School and Stanford University, flunking out of Stanford as a freshman "because I never got around to attending any other class but dramatics." His parents disapproved of his choice of a career in acting, preferring that he join his father's shoe business, "one of the most solvent commercial firms in Sa...