Roscoe Karns

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

Known For

The Lucy Show

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

December Bride

December Bride

Hennesey

His Girl Friday

It Happened One Night

Wings

All Movies (137)

• Man's Favorite Sport?1964 · as Major Phipps
• Onionhead1958 · as 'Windy' Woods
• Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven1948 · as Officer Carmody
• Speed to Spare1948 · as Kangaroo
• Devil's Cargo1948 · as Lt. Hardy
• The Inside Story1948 · as Eustace Peabody
• That's My Man1947 · as Toby Gleeton
• Vigilantes of Boomtown1947 · as Bill Delaney
• Avalanche1946 · as Red Kelly
• I Ring Doorbells1946 · as Stubby
• One Way to Love1946 · as Hobie Simmons
• Hi, Good Lookin'!1944 · as Archie
• The Navy Way1944 · as Frankie Gimble
• Minstrel Man1944 · as Lasses White
• Old Acquaintance1943 · as Charlie Archer
• His Butler's Sister1943 · as Fields
• Riding High1943 · as Shorty
• Stage Door Canteen1943 · as Roscoe Karns
• My Son, The Hero1943 · as Big-Time Morgan
• You Can't Escape Forever1942 · as 'Mac' McTurk
• Yokel Boy1942 · as Al Devers
• Woman of the Year1942 · as Phil Whittaker
• A Tragedy at Midnight1942 · as Cassidy
• Road to Happiness1941 · as Charley Grady
• Half Shot at Sunrise1941 · as Henry Warren
• The Gay Vagabond1941 · as Arthur Dixon / Jerry Dixon
• Black Eyes and Blues1941 · as Alfred Harmon
• Footsteps in the Dark1941 · as Monahan
• Petticoat Politics1941 · as Joe Higgins
• Meet the Missus1940 · as Joe Higgins
• Ladies Must Live1940 · as Pete Larrabee
• They Drive by Night1940 · as Irish McGurn
• Saturday's Children1940 · as Willie Sands
• Double Alibi1940 · as Jeremiah Jenkins
• His Girl Friday1940 · as McCue
• That's Right – You're Wrong1939 · as Mal Stamp
• Everything's on Ice1939 · as Felix Miller
• Dancing Co-Ed1939 · as Joe Drews
• King of Chinatown1939 · as Rip Harrigan
• Thanks for the Memory1938 · as George Kent
• You and Me1938 · as Cuffy
• Tip-Off Girls1938 · as Tom Benson aka Tommy Logan
• Dangerous to Know1938 · as Duncan
• Scandal Street1938 · as Austin Brown
• Partners in Crime1937 · as Sim Perkins
• On Such a Night1937 · as Joe Flynn
• Night of Mystery1937 · as Sergeant Heath
• Murder Goes to College1937 · as Sim Perkins
• Clarence1937 · as Clarence Smith
• Cain and Mabel1936 · as Reilly
• Three Married Men1936 · as Peter Cary
• Border Flight1936 · as Calico Smith
• Woman Trap1936 · as Mopsy
• Two-Fisted1935 · as Chick Moran
• Front Page Woman1935 · as Toots O'Grady
• Alibi Ike1935 · as Carey
• Four Hours to Kill!1935 · as Johnson
• The Woman in Red1935 · as Man in court room (uncredited)
• Red Hot Tires1935 · as Bud Keene
• Wings in the Dark1935 · as Nick Williams
• I Sell Anything1934 · as Monk
• Elmer and Elsie1934 · as Rocky Cott
• Shoot the Works1934 · as Sailor Burke
• Twentieth Century1934 · as Owen O'Malley
• Come On, Marines!1934 · as Spud McGurke
• It Happened One Night1934 · as Oscar Shapeley
• Alice in Wonderland1933 · as Tweedledee
• The Women in His Life1933 · as Aloysius Lester
• One Sunday Afternoon1933 · as Snappy Downer
• Gambling Ship1933 · as Blooey
• A Lady's Profession1933 · as Tony
• Today We Live1933 · as McGinnis
• Grand Slam1933 · as Contest Radio Announcer
• Lawyer Man1932 · as Merritt - Reporter (uncredited)
• Under-Cover Man1932 · as Dannie
• If I Had a Million1932 · as Private O'Brien
• They Call It Sin1932 · as Brad - Rehearsal Director (uncredited)
• Night After Night1932 · as Leo
• One Way Passage1932 · as S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited)
• The Crooked Circle1932 · as Harry Carter
• Two Against the World1932 · as Segall, reporter
• Week-End Marriage1932 · as Jim Davis
• The Roadhouse Murder1932 · as Dale
• Play Girl1932 · as Gambler (uncredited)
• Stowaway1932 · as Insp. Redding
• High Pressure1932 · as Telephone Salesman (uncredited)
• Ladies of the Big House1931 · as Frank - Twenty Questions player (uncredited)
• Left Over Ladies1931 · as 'Scoop'
• Pleasure1931 · as Arnie
• Laughing Sinners1931 · as Fred Geer
• Many a Slip1931 · as Stan Price
• Dirigible1931 · as Sock McGuire
• The Gorilla1930 · as Simmons
• The Costello Case1930 · as Blair
• Man Trouble1930 · as Scott
• Little Accident1930 · as Gilbert
• Safety in Numbers1930 · as Bertram Shapiro
• Troopers Three1930 · as Bugs
• New York Nights1929 · as Johnny Dolan
• This Thing Called Love1929 · as Harry Bertrand
• Copy1929 · as City Editor John Mack
• The Flying Fleet1929 · as Shipwrecked Radio Operator (uncredited)
• The Shopworn Angel1928 · as Dance Director
• Object: Alimony1928 · as Al Bryant
• Jazz Mad1928 · as Sol Levy
• Moran of the Marines1928 · as Swatty
• Beggars of Life1928 · as Lame Hoppy
• Win That Girl1928 · as Johnny Norton II
• Warming Up1928 · as Hippo
• The Vanishing Pioneer1928 · as Ray Hearn
• Something Always Happens1928 · as George
• The Desert Bride1928 · as Pvt. Terry
• The Trail of '981928 · as Man on Ship (uncredited)
• Beau Sabreur1928 · as Buddy
• The Jazz Singer1927 · as Agent (uncredited)
• Wings1927 · as Lieutenant Cameron
• Ten Modern Commandments1927 · as Benny Burnaway
• Ritzy1927 · as Smith's Valet
• You'd Be Surprised1926 · as Party Guest (uncredited)
• Dollar Down1925 · as Gene Meadows
• The Overland Limited1925 · as Patrick Henry Madden
• The Foolish Virgin1924 · as Chuck Brady
• The Midnight Express1924 · as Switch Hogan
• Bluff1924 · as Jack Hallowell
• The Ten Commandments1923 · as The Boy in the Rain (uncredited)
• Other Men's Daughters1923 · as Hubert
• Conquering the Woman1922 · as Shorty Thompson
• The Trouper1922
• Her Own Money1922 · as Jerry Woodward
• The Man Tamer1921 · as Bradley P. Caldwell Jr
• The Life of the Party1920 · as Sam Perkins
• The Family Honor1920 · as Dal Tucker
• Poor Relations1919 · as Henry
• A Western Governor's Humanity1915 · as The Sheriff
• A Species of Mexican Man1915
• From Champion to Tramp1915 · as The Girl's Father
• Mr. Carlson of Arizona1915

All TV Shows (7)

• The Lucy Show1962 · as Mr. Foley
• Hennesey1959 · as Capt. Walter Shafer
• Richard Diamond, Private Detective1957 · as Ed Church
• December Bride1954
• December Bride1954 · as Charley Allen
• Rocky King, Detective1950 · as Police Inspector Rocky King
• Inside Detective1950 · as Police Inspector Rocky King