Harry Shannon
122 movies · 27 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jun 12, 1890
- Died
- Jul 27, 1964 (age 74)
- Place of birth
- Saginaw, Michigan, USA
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.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Harry Shannon: movies and TV shows
Acting (149)
- 1984 The World of Tomorrow
as Pop Middleton (archive footage)
- 1963
- 1962 Gypsy
as Grandpa
- 1962
- 1961 Summer and Smoke
as Dr. Burke (uncredited)
- 1961 Wild in the Country
as Sam Tyler (uncredited)
- 1960
- 1959 Yellowstone Kelly
as Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
- 1959
- 1959
- 1959
- 1958 The Buccaneer
as Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian
- 1958
- 1958
- 1958 Man or Gun
as Justin Corley
- 1958 Touch of Evil
as Chief Gould
- 1957
- 1957
- 1957
- 1957
- 1957
- 1957 The Lonely Man
as Dr. Fisher
- 1957 Hell's Crossroads
as Clay Ford
- 1957 Duel at Apache Wells
as Wayne Shattuck
- 1956 The Peacemaker
as Drunken Cowpuncher
- 1956 Written on the Wind
as Hoak Wayne
- 1956
- 1956
- 1956 Come Next Spring
as Mr. Totter
- 1955 At Gunpoint
as Marshal Pete MacKay
- 1955
- 1955
- 1955 The Marauders
as John Rutherford
- 1955 The Tall Men
as Sam
- 1955
- 1955
- 1955
- 1955 The Violent Men
as Purdue
- 1955
- 1954
- 1954 Executive Suite
as Ed Benedeck
- 1954 Witness to Murder
as Captain Donnelly
- 1954 Rails Into Laramie
as Judge Pierce
- 1954 Phantom Stallion
as Michael Reilly
- 1953 Jack Slade
as Tom Carter
- 1953
- 1953
- 1953 Roar of the Crowd
as Sam 'Pop' Tracy
- 1953 Cry of the Hunted
as Sheriff Brown
- 1953 Kansas Pacific
as Smokestack the Train Engineer
- 1952
- 1952
- 1952 Lure of the Wilderness
as Pat McGowan
- 1952 Flesh and Fury
as Mike Callan
- 1952 High Noon
as Cooper
- 1951
- 1951 The Scarf
as Asylum Warden Anderson
- 1951 The Lemon Drop Kid
as John (Policeman)
- 1951 Blue Blood
as Mr. Buchanan
- 1951 Pride of Maryland
as Walter Shannon
- 1951 Al Jennings of Oklahoma
as Fred Salter
- 1950 Hunt the Man Down
as Wallace Bennett
- 1950 The Flying Missile
as Vice Admiral Williams
- 1950 The Sound of Fury
as Mr. Yaeger
- 1950 Where Danger Lives
as Dr. Maynard
- 1950 The Killer That Stalked New York
as Police Officer Houlihan
- 1950 The Underworld Story
as George Parker
- 1950 Three Little Words
as Clanahan
- 1950 The Gunfighter
as Chuck (uncredited)
- 1950 Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
as Clay
- 1950 Cow Town
as Sandy Reeves
- 1950 The Jackie Robinson Story
as Charlie
- 1950 Singing Guns
as Judge Waller
- 1950 Tarnished
as Kelsey Bunker
- 1949 Mary Ryan, Detective
as Sawyer
- 1949 Mr. Soft Touch
as Police Sergeant Garrett
- 1949 Tulsa
as Nelse Lansing
- 1949 Champion
as Lew
- 1949 Rustlers
as Sheriff Harmon
- 1948 Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
as Chauncey
- 1948 Big Town Scandal
as Police Captain Henry (uncredited)
- 1948 Fighting Father Dunne
as Thomas Lee
- 1948 Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
as Tesander
- 1948
- 1947 The Lady from Shanghai
as Cab Driver
- 1947 Dangerous Years
as Judge Raymond
- 1947 The Invisible Wall
as Det. Capt. R.W. Davis
- 1947 Exposed
as Severance
- 1947 Time Out of Mind
as Capt. Rogers
- 1947 The Farmer's Daughter
as Mr. Holstrom
- 1947 Nora Prentiss
as Police Lieutenant
- 1947 The Devil Thumbs a Ride
as Detective Owens, San Diego Police
- 1947 The Red House
as Dr. Jonathan Byrne
- 1946 San Quentin
as Warden Kelly
- 1946 Crack-Up
as Cop (Uncredited)
- 1946 The Last Crooked Mile
as Police Lieutenant Blake
- 1946 Canyon Passage
as Henry McLane (uncredited)
- 1946 Night Editor
as Capt. Lawrence
- 1946 I Ring Doorbells
as Shannon
- 1945 Pride of the Marines
as Uncle Ralph
- 1945 Captain Eddie
as Simmons
- 1945 Crime, Inc.
as Police Commissioner Collins
- 1944 When the Lights Go On Again
as Tom Cary
- 1944 The Mummy's Ghost
as Sheriff Elwood
- 1944 The Yellow Rose of Texas
as Sam Weston
- 1943 True to Life
as Mr. Mason
- 1943 In Old Oklahoma
as Charlie Witherspoon
- 1943 Headin' for God's Country
as Albert Ness
- 1943 Someone to Remember
as Tom Gibbons
- 1943 Alaska Highway
as John 'Pop' Ormsby
- 1943 Song of Texas
as Sam Bennett
- 1943 Idaho
as Judge John Grey
- 1943 The Powers Girl
as Mr. Hendricks
- 1942 Once Upon a Honeymoon
as Ed Cumberland
- 1942 Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Mr. Tim Wiggs
- 1942 The Big Street
as Florida Doctor (uncredited)
- 1942 In Old California
as Mr. Carlin
- 1942 The Falcon Takes Over
as Detective Grimes (Uncredited)
- 1942 The Mad Martindales
as Policeman
- 1942 This Gun for Hire
as Steve Finnerty
- 1942 The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
as Pinky Dolan
- 1942 The Lady Is Willing
as Barnes
- 1941 Hold Back the Dawn
as American Immigration Official (uncredited)
- 1941 Citizen Kane
as Jim Kane
- 1941 The Saint In Palm Springs
as Chief R.L. Graves
- 1940 Tugboat Annie Sails Again
as Capt. Mahoney
- 1940 Too Many Girls
as Mr. Casey
- 1940 One Crowded Night
as McDermott
- 1940 The Girl from Avenue A
as Timson
- 1940 Sailor's Lady
as Father McGann
- 1940 Gambling on the High Seas
as Ed, Chief of Police
- 1940 Tear Gas Squad
as Lieutenant Sullivan
- 1940 Young Tom Edison
as Army Captain Brackett
- 1940 Parole Fixer
as Randall
- 1940 City of Chance
as Passline
- 1939
- 1937 Alibi Mark
as Railroad Detective
- 1936 Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
as Macbeth
- 1934
- 1934 Smoked Hams
as The Landlord
- 1934 No More West
as Bank Robber
- 1933 Take a Chance
as Bartender
- 1933 Close Relations
as Harry Wart
- 1933
- 1933 Wrongorilla
as Grogan
- 1932 The Campus Mystery
as Police Sergeant
- 1930 Heads Up
as Capt. Denny
- 1929 Faint Heart
as Dynamite Dan
- 1929 Sympathy
as Larry