William E. Shay

William E. Shay was an American actor of stage and silent films. He had leading roles including in The Clemenceau Case (1915), and A Daughter of the Gods (1916).

In 1902, Shay appeared in Martha Morton's The Diplomat at Hoyt's Theatre; and in 1909, he appeared as Baron Sokoli in the stage production of John Luther Long's Kassa at Liberty Theatre on Broadway in New York City. He also starred in the stage productions Zaza and David Belasco's Du Barry.

Shay made his film debut in 1911 at age 45, in A Manly Man. He shot almost all of his films in a ten years span. He attended the first meeting of The Screen Club in 1912, a motion picture group founded in New York City.