 Shaughnessy married the actress Jean Lodge in 1948, and they had two sons, Charles, who is an actor best known for his roles as Shane Donovan on the American television soap opera "Days of Our Lives" and as Maxwell Sheffield on the American television series "The Nanny", and David, an actor and producer.He wrote his autobiography, "Both Ends of the Candle", in 1975, and followed this with "A Confession in Writing" in 1997.He also wrote his mother's memoirs.