"[6] 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.

"[8] His Broadway credits include The Mystery Man (1927), Troyka (1930, Good Men and True (1935), and I Want a Policeman (1936).

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.

[citation needed] A drinking problem effectively ended his career in the mid-1940s and his health rapidly declined.

He entered the Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles suffering from cancer of the mouth, right adrenal and kidney and died there of pneumonia.