Clyde Burke

When The Shadow found Clyde Burke, the man was in his mid 20's. He was a man with a determined look. He looked frail in build but was wiry.

Burke was a crime reporter for the Evening Clarion, but he lost his job when the paper was taken over by the Daily Sphere. New York City had many crime reporters and Burke was out of work until The Shadow, as George Clarendon, hired him. Burke was to run a clipping bureau for this man and send him well-researched cases. Such work showed Clyde as a man of above average intelligence. Then a big mystery hit New York (THE DEATH TOWER Jan. 1932, p. 11-17) and again Burke had done his work with the clippings. Clarendon visited Burke and brought him into his confidence. Clarendon asked Burke some questions on the case and Clyde gave his ideas. These appeared to please Clarendon and he sent Burke on various assignments concerning the case. During the job, he was brought into The Shadow's unit. After the next case, (THE SILENT SEVEN, Feb. 1932), he was hired by the New York Classic.

The Classic was a tabloid that printed only the most sensational and lurid type news. Except for two times when he went to Washington D.C. to set up a news bureau (THE EMBASSY MURDERS, Jan. 1 1934 and THE CASE OF CONGRESSMAN COYD, Dec. 15, 1935) and another when he had to leave New York over an insulting column on Barth (THE BLUE SPHINX, Jan. 15, 1935) Burke worked for the Classic and no other paper. This fact always amazed people who felt Burke too good a reporter to work for such a sleazy journal. But its poorly managed condition is why Burke stayed, for it gave him a degree of independence he could never have had on a better paper.

Burke's duties were investigative, not physical, but if needed he would aid in a battle. As a reporter, Burke had use of the paper's morgue, numerous contacts, and most important, he gained the intimate friendship of Cardona who trusted him with secret information. Burke would sometimes hang around the Police station and pick up stories or he would go out and interview people in the case without this causing any suspicion. At times, when he went to an area outside New York, his job was to gain all the facts he could, and stay to make friends to gain more information as the case evolved.

Burke saved The Shadow many hours of work. To do what Burke did openly would require The Shadow to use devious means, waste much time and quite possibly not get some of the tips at all.

Burke was one of the steadiest of the agents and because of his work, he gained much fame as a reporter. He was captured often, but The Shadow always managed to save him. Burke's private life was never brought up, but as a reporter he had to keep in touch with things, so it would figure that he made the night spots.




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