Roscoe Karns

Born: 1891-09-06 in San Bernardino, California, USA

Died: 1970-02-06

Known For: Acting

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Roscoe Karns (September 7, 1891 – February 6, 1970) was an American actor who appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964. He specialized in cynical, wise-cracking (and often tipsy) characters, and his rapid-fire delivery enlivened many comedies and crime thrillers in the 1930s and 1940s. Though he appeared in numerous silent films, such as Wings and Beggars of Life, his career didn't really take off until sound arrived. Arguably his best-known film role was the annoying bus passenger Oscar Shapeley, who tries to pick up Claudette Colbert in the Oscar-winning comedy It Happened One Night (1934), quickly followed by one of his best performances as the boozy press agent Owen O'Malley in Howard Hawks' Twentieth Century. (Six years later, he co-starred as one of the reporters in another Hawks classic, His Girl Friday.) In 1937, Paramount teamed him with Lynne Overman as a pair of laconic private eyes in two B comedy-mysteries, Murder Goes to College and Partners in Crime. From 1950 to 1954, Karns played the title role in the popular DuMont Television Network series Rocky King, Inside Detective. His son, character actor Todd Karns, also appeared in that series. From 1959 to 1962, Karns was cast as Admiral Walter Shafer in seventy-three of the ninety-five episodes of the CBS military sitcom/drama series, Hennesey, starring Jackie Cooper in the title role of a United States Navy physician, and Abby Dalton as nurse Martha Hale. His final film was another Hawks comedy, Man's Favorite Sport?, in 1964. Karns was born in San Bernardino, California, and died in Los Angeles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Roscoe Karns, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Filmography

1964

Man's Favorite Sport? as Major Phipps

1962

The Lucy Show as Mr. Foley

1959

Hennesey as Capt. Walter Shafer

1958

Onionhead as 'Windy' Woods

1957

Richard Diamond, Private Detective as Ed Church

1954

December Bride

1950

Rocky King, Detective as Police Inspector Rocky King
Inside Detective as Police Inspector Rocky King

1948

Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven as Officer Carmody
Devil's Cargo as Lt. Hardy
The Inside Story as Eustace Peabody
Speed to Spare as Kangaroo

1947

That's My Man as Toby Gleeton
Vigilantes of Boomtown as Bill Delaney

1946

One Way to Love as Hobie Simmons
I Ring Doorbells as Stubby
Avalanche as Red Kelly

1944

Minstrel Man as Lasses White
The Navy Way as Frankie Gimble
Hi, Good Lookin'! as Archie

1943

Stage Door Canteen as Roscoe Karns
Old Acquaintance as Charlie Archer
His Butler's Sister as Fields
Riding High as Shorty
My Son, The Hero as Big-Time Morgan

1942

Woman of the Year as Phil Whittaker
Yokel Boy as Al Devers
A Tragedy at Midnight as Cassidy
You Can't Escape Forever as 'Mac' McTurk

1941

Petticoat Politics as Joe Higgins
Footsteps in the Dark as Monahan
Road to Happiness as Charley Grady
Black Eyes and Blues as Alfred Harmon
Half Shot at Sunrise as Henry Warren
The Gay Vagabond as Arthur Dixon / Jerry Dixon

1940

His Girl Friday as McCue
They Drive by Night as Irish McGurn
Ladies Must Live as Pete Larrabee
Saturday's Children as Willie Sands
Double Alibi as Jeremiah Jenkins
Meet the Missus as Joe Higgins

1939

King of Chinatown as Rip Harrigan
Dancing Co-Ed as Joe Drews
That's Right – You're Wrong as Mal Stamp
Everything's on Ice as Felix Miller

1938

You and Me as Cuffy
Dangerous to Know as Duncan
Tip-Off Girls as Tom Benson aka Tommy Logan
Thanks for the Memory as George Kent
Scandal Street as Austin Brown

1937

Clarence as Clarence Smith
Night of Mystery as Sergeant Heath
On Such a Night as Joe Flynn
Partners in Crime as Sim Perkins
Murder Goes to College as Sim Perkins

1936

Woman Trap as Mopsy
Border Flight as Calico Smith
Cain and Mabel as Reilly
Three Married Men as Peter Cary

1935

Front Page Woman as Toots O'Grady
Red Hot Tires as Bud Keene
The Woman in Red as Man in court room (uncredited)
Alibi Ike as Carey
Four Hours to Kill! as Johnson
Wings in the Dark as Nick Williams
Two-Fisted as Chick Moran

1934

It Happened One Night as Oscar Shapeley
Twentieth Century as Owen O'Malley
Come On, Marines! as Spud McGurke
Shoot the Works as Sailor Burke
Elmer and Elsie as Rocky Cott
I Sell Anything as Monk

1933

Alice in Wonderland as Tweedledee
Today We Live as McGinnis
A Lady's Profession as Tony
Gambling Ship as Blooey
One Sunday Afternoon as Snappy Downer
The Women in His Life as Aloysius Lester
Grand Slam as Contest Radio Announcer

1932

If I Had a Million as Private O'Brien
Stowaway as Insp. Redding
Lawyer Man as Merritt - Reporter (uncredited)
Night After Night as Leo
They Call It Sin as Brad - Rehearsal Director (uncredited)
One Way Passage as S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited)
Week-End Marriage as Jim Davis
The Crooked Circle as Harry Carter
Two Against the World as Segall, reporter
High Pressure as Telephone Salesman (uncredited)
Play Girl as Gambler (uncredited)
Under-Cover Man as Dannie
The Roadhouse Murder as Dale

1931

Dirigible as Sock McGuire
Laughing Sinners as Fred Geer
Left Over Ladies as 'Scoop'
Ladies of the Big House as Frank - Twenty Questions player (uncredited)
Many a Slip as Stan Price
Pleasure as Arnie

1930

Little Accident as Gilbert
Troopers Three as Bugs
Safety in Numbers as Bertram Shapiro
The Costello Case as Blair
Man Trouble as Scott
The Gorilla as Simmons

1929

Copy as City Editor John Mack
New York Nights as Johnny Dolan
The Flying Fleet as Shipwrecked Radio Operator (uncredited)
This Thing Called Love as Harry Bertrand

1928

Object: Alimony as Al Bryant
Beggars of Life as Lame Hoppy
Warming Up as Hippo
The Trail of '98 as Man on Ship (uncredited)
The Shopworn Angel as Dance Director
Something Always Happens as George
Beau Sabreur as Buddy
Moran of the Marines as Swatty
The Vanishing Pioneer as Ray Hearn
Win That Girl as Johnny Norton II
The Desert Bride as Pvt. Terry
Jazz Mad as Sol Levy

1927

The Jazz Singer as Agent (uncredited)
Wings as Lieutenant Cameron
Ritzy as Smith's Valet
Ten Modern Commandments as Benny Burnaway

1926

You'd Be Surprised as Party Guest (uncredited)

1925

Dollar Down as Gene Meadows
The Overland Limited as Patrick Henry Madden

1924

Bluff as Jack Hallowell
The Midnight Express as Switch Hogan
The Foolish Virgin as Chuck Brady

1923

The Ten Commandments as The Boy in the Rain (uncredited)
Other Men's Daughters as Hubert

1922

Conquering the Woman as Shorty Thompson
Her Own Money as Jerry Woodward
The Trouper

1921

The Man Tamer as Bradley P. Caldwell Jr