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
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Lassie
1954
The Virginian
1962
The Untouchables
1959
Rawhide
1959
Rawhide
1959
Rawhide
1959
Rawhide
1959
Cheyenne
1955
Bat Masterson
1958
Gunsmoke
1955
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
Filmography
Have Gun, Will Travel
as Jesse · 1957
Lassie
· 1954
The Virginian
as Uncle Josh · 1962
The Untouchables
as Michael Shaw · 1959
Rawhide
as Claggert · 1959
Rawhide
as Kilo · 1959
Rawhide
as Sheriff Blanton · 1959
Rawhide
as Jeffries · 1959
Cheyenne
· 1955
Bat Masterson
as Jobe Crail · 1958
Gunsmoke
as Bowers · 1955
The Ford Television Theatre
as Judge Varney · 1952
The Texan
as Jayson Howell · 1958
The Real McCoys
· 1957
State Trooper
· 1956
The Millionaire
as Judge William Jennings Westholme · 1955
Sugarfoot
as Henry Shipman · 1957
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Dr. Harner · 1955
Navy Log
· 1955
Citizen Kane
as Jim Kane · 1941
Lock-Up
· 1959
Cavalcade of America
· 1952
Cavalcade of America
as Samuel Morse · 1952
The Thin Man
· 1957
The Dakotas
· 1963
High Noon
as Cooper · 1952
Crossroads
as Detective Sergeant Dave Washburn · 1955
26 Men
· 1957
The Man Behind the Badge
· 1953
Angel
· 1960
Wire Service
as Harris Ellerby · 1956
Letter to Loretta
as Tom · 1953
Touch of Evil
as Chief Gould · 1958
Written on the Wind
as Hoak Wayne · 1956
The Lady from Shanghai
as Cab Driver · 1947
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Big Jim Heywood · 1951
The Tall Men
as Sam · 1955
This Gun for Hire
as Steve Finnerty · 1942
The Gunfighter
as Chuck (uncredited) · 1950
The Buccaneer
as Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian · 1958
Gypsy
as Grandpa · 1962
In Old Oklahoma
as Charlie Witherspoon · 1943
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
as Tesander · 1948
Wild in the Country
as Sam Tyler (uncredited) · 1961
Executive Suite
as Ed Benedeck · 1954
The Lemon Drop Kid
as John (Policeman) · 1951
Champion
as Lew · 1949
The Farmer's Daughter
as Mr. Holstrom · 1947
The Red House
as Dr. Jonathan Byrne · 1947
Once Upon a Honeymoon
as Ed Cumberland · 1942
Hold Back the Dawn
as American Immigration Official (uncredited) · 1941
Canyon Passage
as Henry McLane (uncredited) · 1946
The Mummy's Ghost
as Sheriff Elwood · 1944
Yellowstone Kelly
as Captain of the Far West (uncredited) · 1959
Young Tom Edison
as Army Captain Brackett · 1940
Pride of the Marines
as Uncle Ralph · 1945
The Big Street
as Florida Doctor (uncredited) · 1942
The Lady Is Willing
as Barnes · 1942
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
as Fred Salter · 1951
The Lonely Man
as Dr. Fisher · 1957
The Sound of Fury
as Mr. Yaeger · 1950
Three Little Words
as Clanahan · 1950
The Violent Men
as Purdue · 1955
Where Danger Lives
as Dr. Maynard · 1950
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
as Detective Owens, San Diego Police · 1947
Gambling on the High Seas
as Ed, Chief of Police · 1940
Cry of the Hunted
as Sheriff Brown · 1953
Tarnished
as Kelsey Bunker · 1950
The Killer That Stalked New York
as Police Officer Houlihan · 1950
In Old California
as Mr. Carlin · 1942
Witness to Murder
as Captain Donnelly · 1954
Time Out of Mind
as Capt. Rogers · 1947
Faint Heart
as Dynamite Dan · 1929
The Jackie Robinson Story
as Charlie · 1950
Nora Prentiss
as Police Lieutenant · 1947
Duel at Apache Wells
as Wayne Shattuck · 1957
Lure of the Wilderness
as Pat McGowan · 1952
Exposed
as Severance · 1947
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
as Chauncey · 1948
Hunt the Man Down
as Wallace Bennett · 1950
The Falcon Takes Over
as Detective Grimes (Uncredited) · 1942
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
as Pinky Dolan · 1942
Tulsa
as Nelse Lansing · 1949
At Gunpoint
as Marshal Pete MacKay · 1955
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
as Clay · 1950
The Saint In Palm Springs
as Chief R.L. Graves · 1941
The Yellow Rose of Texas
as Sam Weston · 1944
Mr. Soft Touch
as Police Sergeant Garrett · 1949
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Mr. Tim Wiggs · 1942
The World of Tomorrow
as Pop Middleton (archive footage) · 1984
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
as Capt. Mahoney · 1940
Mary Ryan, Detective
as Sawyer · 1949
The Flying Missile
as Vice Admiral Williams · 1950
Summer and Smoke
as Dr. Burke (uncredited) · 1961
True to Life
as Mr. Mason · 1943
When the Lights Go On Again
as Tom Cary · 1944
The Last Crooked Mile
as Police Lieutenant Blake · 1946
Rails Into Laramie
as Judge Pierce · 1954
My Girl Tisa
· 1948
The Powers Girl
as Mr. Hendricks · 1943
Come Next Spring
as Mr. Totter · 1956
Crime, Inc.
as Police Commissioner Collins · 1945
Kansas Pacific
as Smokestack the Train Engineer · 1953
The Girl from Avenue A
as Timson · 1940
Hell's Crossroads
as Clay Ford · 1957
The Underworld Story
as George Parker · 1950
Singing Guns
as Judge Waller · 1950
Sympathy
as Larry · 1929
Tear Gas Squad
as Lieutenant Sullivan · 1940
Roar of the Crowd
as Sam 'Pop' Tracy · 1953
Crack-Up
as Cop (Uncredited) · 1946
Night Editor
as Capt. Lawrence · 1946
The Marauders
as John Rutherford · 1955
Too Many Girls
as Mr. Casey · 1940
The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair
as Father · 1939
A Peach of a Pair
· 1934
Flesh and Fury
as Mike Callan · 1952
Alibi Mark
as Railroad Detective · 1937
No More West
as Bank Robber · 1934
Headin' for God's Country
as Albert Ness · 1943
Idaho
as Judge John Grey · 1943
Jack Slade
as Tom Carter · 1953
The Invisible Wall
as Det. Capt. R.W. Davis · 1947
Wrongorilla
as Grogan · 1933
The Peacemaker
as Drunken Cowpuncher · 1956
Sailor's Lady
as Father McGann · 1940
San Quentin
as Warden Kelly · 1946
Man or Gun
as Justin Corley · 1958
Parole Fixer
as Randall · 1940
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
· 1933
Fighting Father Dunne
as Thomas Lee · 1948
Dangerous Years
as Judge Raymond · 1947
The Mad Martindales
as Policeman · 1942
The Scarf
as Asylum Warden Anderson · 1951
Someone to Remember
as Tom Gibbons · 1943
City of Chance
as Passline · 1940
Alaska Highway
as John 'Pop' Ormsby · 1943
Big Town Scandal
as Police Captain Henry (uncredited) · 1948
Pride of Maryland
as Walter Shannon · 1951
Song of Texas
as Sam Bennett · 1943
Captain Eddie
as Simmons · 1945
Blue Blood
as Mr. Buchanan · 1951
One Crowded Night
as McDermott · 1940
Take a Chance
as Bartender · 1933
Rustlers
as Sheriff Harmon · 1949
Smoked Hams
as The Landlord · 1934
Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
as Macbeth · 1936
The Campus Mystery
as Police Sergeant · 1932
Phantom Stallion
as Michael Reilly · 1954
Heads Up
as Capt. Denny · 1930
Cow Town
as Sandy Reeves · 1950
I Ring Doorbells
as Shannon · 1946
Close Relations
as Harry Wart · 1933