Rusty Lane

Rusty Lane (May 31, 1899 – October 10, 1986), was a college professor who in his forties left academia to become a professional actor. He appeared in several Broadway productions during the 1940s and 1950s, including three years as an original cast member for Mister Roberts. He was in the original cast for another Tony award-winning play, The Desperate Hours. Lane also took up screen acting, performing in 21 films and making hundreds of televisions appearances from 1950 up through 1973, including as the star of the TV series Crime with Father, and as a regular cast member of the daytime serial The Clear Horizon. Early life James Russell Lane was born in Chicago, Illinois, the younger of two children for Mack M. Lane, a school teacher and principal, and Cora Barr Lane. As a young man he used his middle name in preference to his first, but otherwise was known by his nickname "Rusty". Later, as a teacher and professor he used "J. Russell Lane" for formal situations. By age 17, his family had moved to suburban Crete, Illinois, from where Lane enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 17, 1917. Sent for training with the Illinois National Guard at Champaign, Illinois, he was assigned to the US 124th Field Artillery Regiment. By October, his regiment had moved to Camp Logan in Houston, Texas. He received a medical discharge on December 24, 1917, due to a foot injury. He then worked as a teacher in a private school run by Arthur Lane, in Pisgah, Iowa. College Lane was a student at the University of Illinois from 1922 thru 1926 when he graduated. He played football his first two years under coach Bob Zuppke, was a member of the 1923 championship team with Red Grange, but lost part of that season due to academic probation. His later college years were focused on theater and public speaking under the mentorship of Professor W. C. Troutman. He was elected president of the college dramatic society, took part in plays, and in his senior year represented Illinois at an interstate public speaking competition held in Madison, Wisconsin.