Roscoe Karns
Acting
Born September 6, 1891, San Bernardino, California, USA
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
- 1964Man's Favorite Sport? — Major Phipps
- The Lucy Show — Mr. Foley
- Hennesey — Capt. Walter Shafer
- 1958Onionhead — 'Windy' Woods
- Richard Diamond, Private Detective — Ed Church
- December Bride — Charley Allen
- Inside Detective — Police Inspector Rocky King
- Rocky King, Detective — Police Inspector Rocky King
- 1948Devil's Cargo — Lt. Hardy
- 1948Speed to Spare — Kangaroo
- 1948Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven — Officer Carmody
- 1948The Inside Story — Eustace Peabody
- 1947That's My Man — Toby Gleeton
- 1947Vigilantes of Boomtown — Bill Delaney
- 1946Avalanche — Red Kelly
- 1946I Ring Doorbells — Stubby
- 1946One Way to Love — Hobie Simmons
- 1944Hi, Good Lookin'! — Archie
- 1944Minstrel Man — Lasses White
- 1944The Navy Way — Frankie Gimble
- 1943His Butler's Sister — Fields
- 1943My Son, The Hero — Big-Time Morgan
- 1943Old Acquaintance — Charlie Archer
- 1943Riding High — Shorty
- 1943Stage Door Canteen — Roscoe Karns
- 1942A Tragedy at Midnight — Cassidy
- 1942Woman of the Year — Phil Whittaker
- 1942Yokel Boy — Al Devers
- 1942You Can't Escape Forever — 'Mac' McTurk
- 1941Black Eyes and Blues — Alfred Harmon
- 1941Footsteps in the Dark — Monahan
- 1941Half Shot at Sunrise — Henry Warren
- 1941Petticoat Politics — Joe Higgins
- 1941Road to Happiness — Charley Grady
- 1941The Gay Vagabond — Arthur Dixon / Jerry Dixon
- 1940Double Alibi — Jeremiah Jenkins
- 1940His Girl Friday — McCue
- 1940Ladies Must Live — Pete Larrabee
- 1940Meet the Missus — Joe Higgins
- 1940Saturday's Children — Willie Sands
- 1940They Drive by Night — Irish McGurn
- 1939Dancing Co-Ed — Joe Drews
- 1939Everything's on Ice — Felix Miller
- 1939King of Chinatown — Rip Harrigan
- 1939That's Right – You're Wrong — Mal Stamp
- 1938Dangerous to Know — Duncan
- 1938Scandal Street — Austin Brown
- 1938Thanks for the Memory — George Kent
- 1938Tip-Off Girls — Tom Benson aka Tommy Logan
- 1938You and Me — Cuffy
- 1937Clarence — Clarence Smith
- 1937Murder Goes to College — Sim Perkins
- 1937Night of Mystery — Sergeant Heath
- 1937On Such a Night — Joe Flynn
- 1937Partners in Crime — Sim Perkins
- 1936Border Flight — Calico Smith
- 1936Cain and Mabel — Reilly
- 1936Three Cheers for Love — Doc 'Short Circuit' Wilson
- 1936Three Married Men — Peter Cary
- 1936Woman Trap — Mopsy
- 1935Alibi Ike — Carey
- 1935Four Hours to Kill! — Johnson
- 1935Front Page Woman — Toots O'Grady
- 1935Red Hot Tires — Bud Keene
- 1935The Woman in Red — Man in court room (uncredited)
- 1935Two-Fisted — Chick Moran
- 1935Wings in the Dark — Nick Williams
- 1934Come On, Marines! — Spud McGurke
- 1934Elmer and Elsie — Rocky Cott
- 1934I Sell Anything — Monk
- 1934It Happened One Night — Oscar Shapeley
- 1934Shoot the Works — Sailor Burke
- 1934Twentieth Century — Owen O'Malley
- 1933A Lady's Profession — Tony
- 1933Alice in Wonderland — Tweedledee
- 1933Gambling Ship — Blooey
- 1933Grand Slam — Contest Radio Announcer
- 1933One Sunday Afternoon — Snappy Downer
- 1933The Women in His Life — Aloysius Lester
- 1933Today We Live — McGinnis
- 1932High Pressure — Telephone Salesman (uncredited)
- 1932If I Had a Million — Private O'Brien
- 1932Lawyer Man — Merritt - Reporter (uncredited)
- 1932Night After Night — Leo
- 1932One Way Passage — S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited)
- 1932Play Girl — Gambler (uncredited)
- 1932Stowaway — Insp. Redding
- 1932The Crooked Circle — Harry Carter
- 1932The Roadhouse Murder — Dale
- 1932They Call It Sin — Brad - Rehearsal Director (uncredited)
- 1932Two Against the World — Segall, reporter
- 1932Under-Cover Man — Dannie
- 1932Week-End Marriage — Jim Davis
- 1931Dirigible — Sock McGuire
- 1931Ladies of the Big House — Frank - Twenty Questions player (uncredited)
- 1931Laughing Sinners — Fred Geer
- 1931Left Over Ladies — 'Scoop'
- 1931Many a Slip — Stan Price
- 1931Pleasure — Arnie
- 1930Little Accident — Gilbert
- 1930Man Trouble — Scott
- 1930Safety in Numbers — Bertram Shapiro
- 1930The Costello Case — Blair
- 1930The Gorilla — Simmons
- 1930Troopers Three — Bugs
- 1929Copy — City Editor John Mack
- 1929New York Nights — Johnny Dolan
- 1929The Flying Fleet — Shipwrecked Radio Operator (uncredited)
- 1929This Thing Called Love — Harry Bertrand
- 1928Beau Sabreur — Buddy
- 1928Beggars of Life — Lame Hoppy
- 1928Jazz Mad — Sol Levy
- 1928Moran of the Marines — Swatty
- 1928Object: Alimony — Al Bryant
- 1928Something Always Happens — George
- 1928The Desert Bride — Pvt. Terry
- 1928The Shopworn Angel — Dance Director
- 1928The Trail of '98 — Man on Ship (uncredited)
- 1928The Vanishing Pioneer — Ray Hearn
- 1928Warming Up — Hippo
- 1928Win That Girl — Johnny Norton II
- 1927Ritzy — Smith's Valet
- 1927Ten Modern Commandments — Benny Burnaway
- 1927The Jazz Singer — Agent (uncredited)
- 1927Wings — Lieutenant Cameron
- 1926You'd Be Surprised — Party Guest (uncredited)
- 1925Dollar Down — Gene Meadows
- 1925The Overland Limited — Patrick Henry Madden
- 1924Bluff — Jack Hallowell
- 1924The Foolish Virgin — Chuck Brady
- 1924The Midnight Express — Switch Hogan
- 1923Other Men's Daughters — Hubert
- 1923The Ten Commandments — The Boy in the Rain (uncredited)
- 1922Conquering the Woman — Shorty Thompson
- 1922Her Own Money — Jerry Woodward
- 1922The Trouper
- 1921The Man Tamer — Bradley P. Caldwell Jr
- 1920The Family Honor — Dal Tucker
- 1920The Life of the Party — Sam Perkins
- 1919Poor Relations — Henry
- 1915A Species of Mexican Man
- 1915A Western Governor's Humanity — The Sheriff
- 1915From Champion to Tramp — The Girl's Father
- 1915Mr. Carlson of Arizona