Lorene Yarnell

Lorene Yarnell (born September 22, 1944) is an American mime artist and physical comedian who gained widespread recognition during the 1970s as one half of the mime duo Shields and Yarnell. The pair starred in their own variety television show on NBC from 1977 to 1978, which became a cultural phenomenon and introduced mime performance to mainstream American audiences. Yarnell's expressive physical comedy and innovative pantomime techniques demonstrated that wordless performance could captivate television viewers. Beyond her television work, she performed in theater productions and continued her mime career internationally. Her contributions to physical comedy helped elevate mime as a legitimate performance art form in America during an era when silent performance was less commercially common. Lorene's partnership with Robert Shields set a standard for comedic mime duos and influenced generations of physical performers.