Charles William Haines, an American actor, and interior designer was born on January 2, 1900. In 1922, a talent scout noticed Haines and he signed with Goldwyn Pictures. His career took off after he garnered positive reviews for his performance in The Midnight Express.
In the 1926 movie Brown of Harvard, he was cast as a wisecracking, arrogant leading man, and his performance cemented his screen identity. Haines had a streak of great movies under his belt by the end of the 1920s, and he was a popular box-office draw.
Haines was the third child of George Adam Haines, a cigar maker, and Laura Virginia Haines (née Matthews) and was born in Staunton, Virginia. Two of their older siblings died when they were young. Lillian, born in 1902, Ann, born in 1907, George, Jr., born in 1908, and Henry, born in 1917, were his four younger siblings.
At the age of eight, he was christened at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton, where he later sang in the choir. He was captivated by stage performances and motion movies from an early age, spending hours in local theatres viewing early silent films.
Haines’ career started slowly, with primarily uncredited appearances in extra and small parts. Three Wise Fools was his first important role (1923). He drew positive critical acclaim, and the studio began grooming him as a rising star. He did, however, continue to play minor roles at Goldwyn. In 1923, his home studio rented him to Fox for The Desert Outlaw, and he got the chance to play a major role.
Haines died of lung cancer on December 26, 1973, in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 73. Shields took an overdose of sleeping pills shortly after, on March 6, 1974. ‘Goodbye to all of you who have tried so hard to console me in my loss of William Haines, whom I have been with since 1926,’ he said in his suicide note.
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