Roscoe Karns
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
Known For
Credits
- 1964 · Man's Favorite Sport? as Major Phipps
- 1962 · The Lucy Show as Mr. Foley
- 1959 · Hennesey as
- 1958 · Onionhead as 'Windy' Woods
- 1957 · Richard Diamond, Private Detective as Ed Church
- 1954 · December Bride as
- 1954 · December Bride as Charley Allen
- 1950 · Rocky King, Detective as Police Inspector Rocky King
- 1948 · Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven as Officer Carmody
- 1948 · Speed to Spare as Kangaroo
- 1948 · Devil's Cargo as Lt. Hardy
- 1948 · The Inside Story as Eustace Peabody
- 1944 · Hi, Good Lookin'! as Archie
- 1944 · Minstrel Man as Lasses White
- 1943 · His Butler's Sister as Fields
- 1943 · My Son, The Hero as Big-Time Morgan
- 1942 · Yokel Boy as Al Devers
- 1940 · Double Alibi as Jeremiah Jenkins
- 1939 · King of Chinatown as Rep Harrigan
- 1938 · Tip-Off Girls as Tom Benson aka Tommy Logan
- 1938 · Dangerous to Know as Duncan
- 1937 · On Such a Night as Joe Flynn
- 1937 · Night of Mystery as Sergeant Heath
- 1937 · Murder Goes to College as Sim Perkins
- 1936 · Border Flight as Calico Smith
- 1936 · Woman Trap as Mopsy
- 1934 · Shoot the Works as Sailor Burke
- 1932 · Lawyer Man as Merritt - Reporter (uncredited)
- 1932 · Under-Cover Man as Dannie
- 1932 · Week-End Marriage as Jim Davis
- 1932 · Play Girl as Gambler (uncredited)
- 1932 · Stowaway as Insp. Redding
- 1931 · Ladies of the Big House as Frank - Twenty Questions player (uncredited)
- 1931 · Left Over Ladies as 'Scoop'
- 1931 · Pleasure as Arnie
- 1929 · The Flying Fleet as Shipwrecked Radio Operator (uncredited)
- 1928 · Moran of the Marines as Swatty
- 1926 · You'd Be Surprised as Party Guest
- Future · Inside Detective as
- 1947 · That's My Man as Toby Gleeton
- 1947 · Vigilantes of Boomtown as Bill Delaney
- 1946 · Avalanche as Red Kelly
- 1946 · I Ring Doorbells as Stubby
- 1946 · One Way to Love as Hobie Simmons
- 1944 · The Navy Way as Frankie Gimble
- 1943 · Old Acquaintance as Charlie Archer
- 1943 · Riding High as Shorty
- 1943 · Stage Door Canteen as Roscoe Karns
- 1942 · You Can't Escape Forever as 'Mac' McTurk
- 1942 · Woman of the Year as Phil Whittaker
- 1942 · A Tragedy at Midnight as Cassidy
- 1941 · Road to Happiness as Charley Grady
- 1941 · Half Shot at Sunrise as Henry Warren
- 1941 · The Gay Vagabond as Arthur Dixon / Jerry Dixon
- 1941 · Black Eyes and Blues as Alfred Harmon
- 1941 · Footsteps in the Dark as Monahan
- 1941 · Petticoat Politics as Joe Higgins
- 1940 · Meet the Missus as Joe Higgins
- 1940 · Ladies Must Live as Pete Larrabee
- 1940 · They Drive by Night as Irish McGurn
- 1940 · Saturday's Children as Willie Sands
- 1940 · His Girl Friday as McCue
- 1939 · That's Right – You're Wrong as Mal Stamp
- 1939 · Everything's on Ice as Felix Miller
- 1939 · Dancing Co-Ed as Joe Drews
- 1938 · Thanks for the Memory as George Kent
- 1938 · You and Me as Cuffy
- 1938 · Scandal Street as Austin Brown
- 1937 · Partners in Crime as Sim Perkins
- 1937 · Clarence as Clarence Smith
- 1936 · Cain and Mabel as Reilly
- 1936 · Three Married Men as Peter Cary
- 1935 · Two-Fisted as Chick Moran
- 1935 · Front Page Woman as Toots O'Grady
- 1935 · Alibi Ike as Carey
- 1935 · Four Hours to Kill! as Johnson
- 1935 · The Woman in Red as Man in court room (uncredited)
- 1935 · Red Hot Tires as Bud Keene
- 1935 · Wings in the Dark as Nick Williams
- 1934 · I Sell Anything as Monk
- 1934 · Twentieth Century as Owen O'Malley
- 1934 · Come On, Marines! as Spud McGurke
- 1934 · It Happened One Night as Oscar Shapeley
- 1933 · Alice in Wonderland as Tweedledee
- 1933 · The Women in His Life as Aloysius Lester
- 1933 · One Sunday Afternoon as Snappy Downer
- 1933 · Gambling Ship as Blooey
- 1933 · Today We Live as McGinnis
- 1933 · A Lady's Profession as Tony
- 1933 · Grand Slam as Contest Radio Announcer
- 1932 · If I Had a Million as Private O'Brien
- 1932 · They Call It Sin as Brad - Rehearsal Director (uncredited)
- 1932 · Night After Night as Leo
- 1932 · One Way Passage as S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited)
- 1932 · The Crooked Circle as Harry Carter
- 1932 · Two Against the World as Segall, reporter
- 1932 · The Roadhouse Murder as Dale
- 1931 · Laughing Sinners as Fred Geer
- 1931 · Many a Slip as Stan Price
- 1931 · Dirigible as Sock McGuire
- 1930 · The Gorilla as Simmons
- 1930 · The Costello Case as Blair
- 1930 · Man Trouble as Scott
- 1930 · Little Accident as Gilbert
- 1930 · Safety in Numbers as Bertram Shapiro
- 1930 · Troopers Three as Bugs
- 1929 · New York Nights as Johnny Dolan
- 1929 · This Thing Called Love as Harry Bertrand
- 1929 · Copy as City Editor John Mack
- 1928 · The Shopworn Angel as Dance Director
- 1928 · Jazz Mad as Sol Levy
- 1928 · Beggars of Life as Lame Hoppy
- 1928 · Win That Girl as Johnny Norton II
- 1928 · Warming Up as Hippo
- 1928 · The Vanishing Pioneer as Ray Hearn
- 1928 · The Desert Bride as Pvt. Terry
- 1928 · The Trail of '98 as Man on Ship (uncredited)
- 1928 · Beau Sabreur as Buddy
- 1927 · The Jazz Singer as Agent (uncredited)
- 1927 · Wings as Lieutenant Cameron
- 1927 · Ten Modern Commandments as Benny Burnaway
- 1924 · The Midnight Express as Switch Hogan
- 1923 · The Ten Commandments as The Boy in the Rain (uncredited)
- 1923 · Other Men's Daughters as Hubert
- 1922 · The Trouper as
- 1922 · Her Own Money as Jerry Woodward
- 1920 · The Life of the Party as Sam Perkins
- 1920 · The Family Honor as Dal Tucker
- 1915 · A Western Governor's Humanity as The Sheriff
- 1915 · A Species of Mexican Man as
- 1915 · From Champion to Tramp as The Girl's Father
- 1915 · Mr. Carlson of Arizona as