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

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

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

1943

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

1942

Woman of the Year as Phil Whittaker
A Tragedy at Midnight as Cassidy
Yokel Boy as Al Devers
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
Double Alibi as Jeremiah Jenkins
Saturday's Children as Willie Sands
Meet the Missus as Joe Higgins

1939

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

1938

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

1937

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

1936

Woman Trap as Mopsy
Three Cheers for Love as Doc 'Short Circuit' Wilson
Cain and Mabel as Reilly
Border Flight as Calico Smith
Three Married Men as Peter Cary

1935

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

1934

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

1933

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

1932

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

1931

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

1930

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

1929

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

1928

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

1927

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

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