Roscoe Karns
Age: 78 | From: San Bernardino, California, USA
Person Details
Birthday: 1891-09-07 12:04:15
Death: 1970-02-06 12:04:15
Aliases: Roscoe Karnes
Gender: Male
Place of birth: San Bernardino, California, USA
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 66
TV Involvements: 1
Most Famous Work
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
Most Famous Work
The Jazz Singer
(1927) Agent (uncredited)
The Ten Commandments
(1923) The Boy in the Rain (uncredited)
Alice in Wonderland
(1933) Tweedledee
Wings
(1927) Lieutenant Cameron
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
(1957) Ed Church
They Drive by Night
(1940) Irish McGurn
One Way Passage
(1932) S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited)
Old Acquaintance
(1943) Charlie ArcherActing
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Major Phipps | |
| 1962 | Mr. Foley | |
| 1959 | N/A | |
| 1958 | 'Windy' Woods | |
| 1957 | Ed Church | |
| 1954 | N/A | |
| 1948 | Officer Carmody | |
| Kangaroo | ||
| Lt. Hardy | ||
| Eustace Peabody | ||
| 1947 | Toby Gleeton | |
| Bill Delaney | ||
| 1946 | Red Kelly | |
| Stubby | ||
| Hobie Simmons | ||
| 1944 | Archie | |
| Frankie Gimble | ||
| Lasses White | ||
| 1943 | Charlie Archer | |
| Fields | ||
| Shorty | ||
| Roscoe Karns | ||
| Big-Time Morgan | ||
| 1942 | 'Mac' McTurk | |
| Al Devers | ||
| Phil Whittaker | ||
| Cassidy | ||
| 1941 | Charley Grady | |
| Henry Warren | ||
| Arthur Dixon / Jerry Dixon | ||
| Alfred Harmon | ||
| Monahan | ||
| Joe Higgins | ||
| 1940 | Joe Higgins | |
| Pete Larrabee | ||
| Irish McGurn | ||
| Willie Sands | ||
| Jeremiah Jenkins | ||
| McCue | ||
| 1939 | Mal Stamp | |
| Felix Miller | ||
| Joe Drews | ||
| Rep Harrigan | ||
| 1938 | George Kent | |
| Cuffy | ||
| Tom Benson aka Tommy Logan | ||
| Duncan | ||
| Austin Brown | ||
| 1937 | Sim Perkins | |
| Joe Flynn | ||
| Sergeant Heath | ||
| Sim Perkins | ||
| Clarence Smith | ||
| 1936 | Reilly | |
| Peter Cary | ||
| Calico Smith | ||
| Mopsy | ||
| 1935 | Chick Moran | |
| Toots O'Grady | ||
| Carey | ||
| Johnson | ||
| Man in court room (uncredited) | ||
| Bud Keene | ||
| Nick Williams | ||
| 1934 | Monk | |
| Sailor Burke | ||
| Owen O'Malley | ||
| Spud McGurke | ||
| Oscar Shapeley | ||
| 1933 | Tweedledee | |
| Aloysius Lester | ||
| Snappy Downer | ||
| Blooey | ||
| McGinnis | ||
| Tony | ||
| Contest Radio Announcer | ||
| 1932 | Merritt - Reporter (uncredited) | |
| Dannie | ||
| Private O'Brien | ||
| Brad - Rehearsal Director (uncredited) | ||
| Leo | ||
| S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited) | ||
| Harry Carter | ||
| Segall, reporter | ||
| Jim Davis | ||
| Dale | ||
| Gambler (uncredited) | ||
| Insp. Redding | ||
| 1931 | Frank - Twenty Questions player (uncredited) | |
| 'Scoop' | ||
| Arnie | ||
| Fred Geer | ||
| Stan Price | ||
| Sock McGuire | ||
| 1930 | Simmons | |
| Blair | ||
| Scott | ||
| Gilbert | ||
| Bertram Shapiro | ||
| Bugs | ||
| 1929 | Johnny Dolan | |
| Harry Bertrand | ||
| City Editor John Mack | ||
| Shipwrecked Radio Operator (uncredited) | ||
| 1928 | Dance Director | |
| Sol Levy | ||
| Swatty | ||
| Lame Hoppy | ||
| Johnny Norton II | ||
| Hippo | ||
| Ray Hearn | ||
| Pvt. Terry | ||
| Man on Ship (uncredited) | ||
| Buddy | ||
| 1927 | Agent (uncredited) | |
| Lieutenant Cameron | ||
| Benny Burnaway | ||
| 1926 | Party Guest | |
| 1924 | Switch Hogan | |
| 1923 | The Boy in the Rain (uncredited) | |
| Hubert | ||
| 1922 | N/A | |
| Jerry Woodward | ||
| 1920 | Sam Perkins | |
| Dal Tucker | ||
| N/A | ||
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
