Better known as half of the act Shields and Yarnell, Shields didn't speak for the first four years of his life and he spoke with a stutter until he was 17 years old, so the transition to professional pantomime seemed a logical choice. He first gained attention working as a street mime in San Francisco and soon he and his partner (and then-wife), Lorene Yarnell, transitioned to television, even headlining their own TV show in 1977. Perhaps Shields' biggest claim to fame is he was credited for creating the popular dance move "The Robot."