Film Snail

Roscoe Karns

Born · September 6, 1891

Died · February 6, 1970 (78 years old)

Known For: Acting

Place of Birth: San Bernardino, California, USA

Bio

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

Man's Favorite Sport?

Major Phipps

7.0

1964

The Lucy Show

Mr. Foley · (1 episode)

7.0

1962

Hennesey

(96 episodes)

6.0

1959

Onionhead

'Windy' Woods

5.5

1958

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

Ed Church · (1 episode)

6.2

1957

December Bride

(1 episode)

5.5

1954

December Bride

Charley Allen · (1 episode)

5.5

1954

Rocky King, Detective

Police Inspector Rocky King · (248 episodes)

0.0

1950

Inside Detective

Police Inspector Rocky King · (4 episodes)

0.0

1950

Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

Officer Carmody

6.0

1948

Speed to Spare

Kangaroo

5.0

1948

Devil's Cargo

Lt. Hardy

5.5

1948

The Inside Story

Eustace Peabody

6.5

1948

That's My Man

Toby Gleeton

6.0

1947

Vigilantes of Boomtown

Bill Delaney

0.0

1947

Avalanche

Red Kelly

0.0

1946

I Ring Doorbells

Stubby

0.0

1946

One Way to Love

Hobie Simmons

7.0

1946

Hi, Good Lookin'!

Archie

5.7

1944

The Navy Way

Frankie Gimble

5.7

1944

Minstrel Man

Lasses White

5.0

1944

Old Acquaintance

Charlie Archer

6.9

1943

His Butler's Sister

Fields

7.1

1943

Riding High

Shorty

4.0

1943

Stage Door Canteen

Roscoe Karns

6.1

1943

My Son, The Hero

Big-Time Morgan

0.0

1943

You Can't Escape Forever

'Mac' McTurk

5.4

1942

Yokel Boy

Al Devers

4.7

1942

Woman of the Year

Phil Whittaker

6.9

1942

A Tragedy at Midnight

Cassidy

4.0

1942

Road to Happiness

Charley Grady

5.5

1941

Half Shot at Sunrise

Henry Warren

0.0

1941

The Gay Vagabond

4.5

1940

His Girl Friday

McCue

7.4

1940

That's Right – You're Wrong

Mal Stamp

5.7

1939

Everything's on Ice

Felix Miller

4.8

1939

Dancing Co-Ed

Joe Drews

6.2

1939

King of Chinatown

Rep Harrigan

5.8

1939

Thanks for the Memory

George Kent

5.7

1938

You and Me

Cuffy

6.7

1938

Tip-Off Girls

Tom Benson aka Tommy Logan

6.0

1938

Dangerous to Know

Duncan

6.5

1938

Scandal Street

Austin Brown

0.0

1938

Partners in Crime

Sim Perkins

0.0

1937

On Such a Night

Joe Flynn

0.0

1937

Night of Mystery

Sergeant Heath

0.0

1937

Murder Goes to College

Sim Perkins

3.0

1937

Clarence

Clarence Smith

0.0

1937

Cain and Mabel

Reilly

6.2

1936

Three Married Men

Peter Cary

0.0

1936

Border Flight

Calico Smith

6.0

1936

Woman Trap

Mopsy

0.0

1936

Two-Fisted

Chick Moran

7.0

1935

Front Page Woman

Toots O'Grady

5.8

1935

Alibi Ike

Carey

5.8

1935

Four Hours to Kill!

Johnson

5.0

1935

The Woman in Red

Man in court room (uncredited)

6.1

1935

Red Hot Tires

Bud Keene

5.8

1935

Wings in the Dark

Nick Williams

6.4

1935

I Sell Anything

Monk

4.5

1934

Shoot the Works

Sailor Burke

5.0

1934

Twentieth Century

Owen O'Malley

6.8

1934

Come On, Marines!

Spud McGurke

5.0

1934

It Happened One Night

Oscar Shapeley

7.8

1934

Alice in Wonderland

Tweedledee

6.1

1933

The Women in His Life

Aloysius Lester

4.0

1933

One Sunday Afternoon

Snappy Downer

6.3

1933

Gambling Ship

Blooey

5.2

1933

A Lady's Profession

Tony

0.0

1933

Today We Live

McGinnis

6.2

1933

Grand Slam

Contest Radio Announcer

3.7

1933

Lawyer Man

Merritt - Reporter (uncredited)

5.8

1932

Under-Cover Man

Dannie

4.5

1932

If I Had a Million

Private O'Brien

6.5

1932

They Call It Sin

Brad - Rehearsal Director (uncredited)

5.8

1932

Night After Night

Leo

6.1

1932

One Way Passage

S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited)

7.2

1932

The Crooked Circle

Harry Carter

4.8

1932

Two Against the World

Segall, reporter

5.6

1932

Week-End Marriage

Jim Davis

6.0

1932

The Roadhouse Murder

Dale

3.8

1932

Play Girl

Gambler (uncredited)

5.2

1932

Stowaway

Insp. Redding

5.0

1932

Ladies of the Big House

Frank - Twenty Questions player (uncredited)

6.0

1931

Left Over Ladies

'Scoop'

0.0

1931

Pleasure

Arnie

3.5

1931

Laughing Sinners

Fred Geer

5.4

1931

Many a Slip

Stan Price

0.0

1931

Dirigible

Sock McGuire

5.6

1931

The Gorilla

Simmons

0.0

1930

The Costello Case

Blair

0.0

1930

Man Trouble

Scott

5.0

1930

Little Accident

Gilbert

0.0

1930

Safety in Numbers

Bertram Shapiro

5.0

1930

Troopers Three

Bugs

7.0

1930

New York Nights

Johnny Dolan

4.8

1929

This Thing Called Love

Harry Bertrand

0.0

Beau Sabreur

Buddy

0.0

1928

The Jazz Singer

Agent (uncredited)

6.1

1927

Wings

Lieutenant Cameron

7.2

1927

Ten Modern Commandments

Benny Burnaway

0.0

1927

You'd Be Surprised

Party Guest (uncredited)

Sam Perkins

5.2

1920

The Family Honor

Dal Tucker

0.0

1920

A Western Governor's Humanity

The Sheriff

0.0

1915

A Species of Mexican Man

0.0

1915

From Champion to Tramp

The Girl's Father

0.0

1915

Mr. Carlson of Arizona

0.0

1915