Weldon Heyburn

for the Idaho senator, see Weldon B. Heyburn
Weldon Heyburn (September 19, 1903 – May 18, 1951) was an American character actor and bit player.

The son of United States Army Col. Wyatt G. Franks, Heyburn was born Weldon Heyburn Franks September 19, 1903, in Washington, D.C. (Another source says he was born in Selma, Alabama.)

Heyburn attended Central High School and Emerson Institute in Washington, D.C., before attending the University of Alabama.

In the 1920s, Heyburn represented himself as "the son of Charles Heyburn, judge of the United States Supreme Court" and "the nephew of Weldon Heyburn, the late Senator of Iowa." The senator's niece denied any kinship, saying in 1925 that Heyburn was "an impostor if he persists in his claims," with other members of the family supporting her assertion.

In the mid-1920s, Heyburn was the "leading man in a Lansing, Mich., stock company." His Broadway credits include The Mystery Man (1927), Troyka (1930, Good Men and True (1935), and I Want a Policeman (1936).

In 1931, Heyburn ventured into film. An August 31, 1931, newspaper article reported, "After playing leading man for such stage stars as Jeanne Eagels, Lenore Ulric and Mary Boland, he has given up the stage to become a feature screen player like his roommate and fellow gridiron player, John Mack Brown."

During World War II, Heyburn served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

In 1924, Heyburn married actress Phyllis Connard. They divorced October 15, 1926.

Heyburn married Norwegian star Greta Nissen March 30, 1932, in Tijuana, Mexico. They met when they appeared together in The Silent Witness (1932), she as the female lead, he as an unbilled player. On October 19, 1935, Nissen went to court to have the marriage annulled, "charging their marriage ... was illegal and violated legal witness and residence requirements." The annulment was granted April 30, 1936.

Heyburn married Jane Eichelberger ("prominent socially in New York and Cleveland") on May 5, 1936, at Heyburn's home in Brentwood, California.

Heyburn appeared in about 65 films from 1930 through 1950. They include: