Harry Shannon
Biography
Born and raised on a farm in Michigan in 1890, Irish-American character actor Harry Shannon had the credentials for becoming a staple player in westerns. He started off his career traveling around with repertory and stock companies and developed his musical abilities in tent shows, burlesque houses and such tuneful Broadway shows as "Oh, Kay!" (1926), "Hold Everything" (1928), "Simple Simon" (1931), and "Pardon My English" (1933). A company member of Joseph Schildkraut's Hollywood Theater Guild, Shannon broke into films at the advent of sound and started things off in comedy film shorts opposite such celebrated players as Bert Lahr, Shemp Howard, and Leon Errol. In the 1940s Shannon established himself in feature-length movies and although he remained a minor, second-string player, he proved himself a durable presence in westerns usually remaining on the good side of the law as sheriffs and bucolic dads. In lighthearted entertainment he could be found as a friendly Irish cop or bartender. He made a slight but memorable impression as Kane's alcoholic father in the classic Citizen Kane (1941), while his last role would be as the grandfather in the musical Gypsy (1962). In between were small parts in such notable films as The Fighting Sullivans (1944), The Jolson Story (1946), High Noon (1952), Touch of Evil (1958), and The Buccaneer (1958). 1950s TV westerns such as Cheyenne (1955), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Rawhide (1959), and Gunsmoke (1955) made consistent use of his rustic demeanor. Shannon died in 1964 at age 74.
Known For
All Movies (122)
- The World of Tomorrow1984 · as Pop Middleton (archive footage)
- Gypsy1962 · as Grandpa
- Summer and Smoke1961 · as Dr. Burke (uncredited)
- Wild in the Country1961 · as Sam Tyler (uncredited)
- Yellowstone Kelly1959 · as Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
- The Buccaneer1958 · as Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian
- Man or Gun1958 · as Justin Corley
- Touch of Evil1958 · as Chief Gould
- The Lonely Man1957 · as Dr. Fisher
- Hell's Crossroads1957 · as Clay Ford
- Duel at Apache Wells1957 · as Wayne Shattuck
- The Peacemaker1956 · as Drunken Cowpuncher
- Written on the Wind1956 · as Hoak Wayne
- Come Next Spring1956 · as Mr. Totter
- At Gunpoint1955 · as Marshal Pete MacKay
- The Marauders1955 · as John Rutherford
- The Tall Men1955 · as Sam
- The Violent Men1955 · as Purdue
- Executive Suite1954 · as Ed Benedeck
- Witness to Murder1954 · as Captain Donnelly
- Rails Into Laramie1954 · as Judge Pierce
- Phantom Stallion1954 · as Michael Reilly
- Jack Slade1953 · as Tom Carter
- Roar of the Crowd1953 · as Sam 'Pop' Tracy
- Cry of the Hunted1953 · as Sheriff Brown
- Kansas Pacific1953 · as Smokestack the Train Engineer
- Lure of the Wilderness1952 · as Pat McGowan
- Flesh and Fury1952 · as Mike Callan
- High Noon1952 · as Cooper
- The Scarf1951 · as Asylum Warden Anderson
- The Lemon Drop Kid1951 · as John (Policeman)
- Blue Blood1951 · as Mr. Buchanan
- Pride of Maryland1951 · as Walter Shannon
- Al Jennings of Oklahoma1951 · as Fred Salter
- Hunt the Man Down1950 · as Wallace Bennett
- The Flying Missile1950 · as Vice Admiral Williams
- The Sound of Fury1950 · as Mr. Yaeger
- Where Danger Lives1950 · as Dr. Maynard
- The Killer That Stalked New York1950 · as Police Officer Houlihan
- The Underworld Story1950 · as George Parker
- Three Little Words1950 · as Clanahan
- The Gunfighter1950 · as Chuck (uncredited)
- Curtain Call at Cactus Creek1950 · as Clay
- Cow Town1950 · as Sandy Reeves
- The Jackie Robinson Story1950 · as Charlie
- Singing Guns1950 · as Judge Waller
- Tarnished1950 · as Kelsey Bunker
- Mary Ryan, Detective1949 · as Sawyer
- Mr. Soft Touch1949 · as Police Sergeant Garrett
- Tulsa1949 · as Nelse Lansing
- Champion1949 · as Lew
- Rustlers1949 · as Sheriff Harmon
- Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'1948 · as Chauncey
- Big Town Scandal1948 · as Police Captain Henry (uncredited)
- Fighting Father Dunne1948 · as Thomas Lee
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House1948 · as Tesander
- My Girl Tisa1948
- The Lady from Shanghai1947 · as Cab Driver
- Dangerous Years1947 · as Judge Raymond
- The Invisible Wall1947 · as Det. Capt. R.W. Davis
- Exposed1947 · as Severance
- Time Out of Mind1947 · as Capt. Rogers
- The Farmer's Daughter1947 · as Mr. Holstrom
- Nora Prentiss1947 · as Police Lieutenant
- The Devil Thumbs a Ride1947 · as Detective Owens, San Diego Police
- The Red House1947 · as Dr. Jonathan Byrne
- San Quentin1946 · as Warden Kelly
- Crack-Up1946 · as Cop (Uncredited)
- The Last Crooked Mile1946 · as Police Lieutenant Blake
- Canyon Passage1946 · as Henry McLane (uncredited)
- Night Editor1946 · as Capt. Lawrence
- I Ring Doorbells1946 · as Shannon
- Pride of the Marines1945 · as Uncle Ralph
- Captain Eddie1945 · as Simmons
- Crime, Inc.1945 · as Police Commissioner Collins
- When the Lights Go On Again1944 · as Tom Cary
- The Mummy's Ghost1944 · as Sheriff Elwood
- The Yellow Rose of Texas1944 · as Sam Weston
- True to Life1943 · as Mr. Mason
- In Old Oklahoma1943 · as Charlie Witherspoon
- Headin' for God's Country1943 · as Albert Ness
- Someone to Remember1943 · as Tom Gibbons
- Alaska Highway1943 · as John 'Pop' Ormsby
- Song of Texas1943 · as Sam Bennett
- Idaho1943 · as Judge John Grey
- The Powers Girl1943 · as Mr. Hendricks
- Once Upon a Honeymoon1942 · as Ed Cumberland
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch1942 · as Mr. Tim Wiggs
- The Big Street1942 · as Florida Doctor (uncredited)
- In Old California1942 · as Mr. Carlin
- The Falcon Takes Over1942 · as Detective Grimes (Uncredited)
- The Mad Martindales1942 · as Policeman
- This Gun for Hire1942 · as Steve Finnerty
- The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine1942 · as Pinky Dolan
- The Lady Is Willing1942 · as Barnes
- Hold Back the Dawn1941 · as American Immigration Official (uncredited)
- Citizen Kane1941 · as Jim Kane
- The Saint In Palm Springs1941 · as Chief R.L. Graves
- Tugboat Annie Sails Again1940 · as Capt. Mahoney
- Too Many Girls1940 · as Mr. Casey
- One Crowded Night1940 · as McDermott
- The Girl from Avenue A1940 · as Timson
- Sailor's Lady1940 · as Father McGann
- Gambling on the High Seas1940 · as Ed, Chief of Police
- Tear Gas Squad1940 · as Lieutenant Sullivan
- Young Tom Edison1940 · as Army Captain Brackett
- Parole Fixer1940 · as Randall
- City of Chance1940 · as Passline
- The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair1939 · as Father
- Alibi Mark1937 · as Railroad Detective
- Shake, Mr. Shakespeare1936 · as Macbeth
- A Peach of a Pair1934
- Smoked Hams1934 · as The Landlord
- No More West1934 · as Bank Robber
- Take a Chance1933 · as Bartender
- Close Relations1933 · as Harry Wart
- 20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang1933
- Wrongorilla1933 · as Grogan
- The Campus Mystery1932 · as Police Sergeant
- Heads Up1930 · as Capt. Denny
- Faint Heart1929 · as Dynamite Dan
- Sympathy1929 · as Larry
All TV Shows (30)
- The Dakotas1963
- The Virginian1962 · as Uncle Josh
- Angel1960
- The Untouchables1959 · as Michael Shaw
- Lock-Up1959
- Rawhide1959 · as Claggert
- Rawhide1959 · as Sheriff Blanton
- Rawhide1959 · as Kilo
- Rawhide1959 · as Jeffries
- Bat Masterson1958 · as Jobe Crail
- The Texan1958 · as Jayson Howell
- 26 Men1957
- The Real McCoys1957
- The Thin Man1957
- Sugarfoot1957 · as Henry Shipman
- Have Gun, Will Travel1957 · as Jesse
- Wire Service1956 · as Harris Ellerby
- State Trooper1956
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents1955 · as Dr. Harner
- Cheyenne1955
- Navy Log1955
- Gunsmoke1955 · as Bowers
- The Millionaire1955 · as Judge William Jennings Westholme
- Lassie1954
- The Man Behind the Badge1953
- Letter to Loretta1953 · as Tom
- The Ford Television Theatre1952 · as Judge Varney
- Cavalcade of America1952
- Cavalcade of America1952 · as Samuel Morse
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars1951 · as Big Jim Heywood