Robert Shields

Robert Shields

Before Robert Shields the performer (Union Square’s first street mime, and 1/2 of Shields & Yarnell).

Moving to Sedona in the late 1960s introduced him to the beauty of the Southwest-Glowing red rocks, drenched sunsets, twinkling skies that influenced his art. World travels gave him a passion for beads, which he used to adorn jewelry, sculptures, and even his handmade crosses.

Shields was born in Los Angeles and graduated from Grant High School. At the age of 18, while working as a street mime and performing at the Hollywood Wax Museum, Shields was discovered by Marcel Marceau, who offered Shields a full scholarship to his school of mime in Paris. His apprenticeship was short-lived as he felt the need to develop his own style and pry mime loose from its artsy pedestal. Shields soon returned to California, working in Union Square, San Francisco. Shields is credited with being the originator of "The Robot" moves early in his career.  In 1974, Shields appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's film The Conversation. In 1998, Shields was recruited by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to serve as their Director of Clowning.

Lorene Yarnell and Robert Shields met when they worked on Fol-de-Rol, a 1972 Sid and Marty Krofft TV special that marked Shields' first TV appearance.

Shields and Yarnell were married in 1972 and divorced in 1986. Shields opened a jewelry and art business in Sedona, Arizona, while Yarnell remarried and moved to Norway. They reunited periodically to tour with their act.

Shields currently resides in Verde Valley, Arizona, where he creates paintings, sculptures, and jewelry design.