Roscoe Karns
Sep 6, 1891 — Feb 6, 1970 (78 years)
San Bernardino, California, USA
129 Movies
4 Series
Roscoe Karns has spent over 111 years in front of the camera, with more than 133 film and TV credits. his Oscar Shapeley in 'It Happened One Night' ranks among the most remembered of his filmography. Romance has been his most frequent territory.
78R.I.P.
129Movies
4Series
Roscoe Karns
129 Movies
4 Series
Roscoe Karns has spent over 111 years in front of the camera, with more than 133 film and TV credits. his Oscar Shapeley in 'It Happened One Night' ranks among the most remembered of his filmography. Romance has been his most frequent territory.
78 R.I.P.
R.I.P.
129
Movies
4
Series
Movies
Dollar Down
1925
It Happened One Night
1934
His Girl Friday
1940
Wings
1927
The Jazz Singer
1927
Dirigible
1931
Onionhead
1958
Yokel Boy
1942
Beggars of Life
1928
Alice in Wonderland
1933
Woman of the Year
1942
Man's Favorite Sport?
1964
Front Page Woman
1935
The Ten Commandments
1923
Twentieth Century
1934
If I Had a Million
1932
They Drive by Night
1940
Gambling Ship
1933
Laughing Sinners
1931
Stage Door Canteen
1943
The Women in His Life
1933
The Flying Fleet
1929
That's Right – You're Wrong
1939
Old Acquaintance
1943
The Trail of '98
1928
The Crooked Circle
1932
The Life of the Party
1920
The Midnight Express
1924
Dangerous to Know
1938
King of Chinatown
1939
Footsteps in the Dark
1941
Night After Night
1932
High Pressure
1932
The Woman in Red
1935
That's My Man
1947
Today We Live
1933
Week-End Marriage
1932
Two Against the World
1932
Everything's on Ice
1939
Come On, Marines!
1934
Wings in the Dark
1935
Cain and Mabel
1936
Play Girl
1932
Thanks for the Memory
1938
Shoot the Works
1934
Murder Goes to College
1937
You and Me
1938
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1948
Grand Slam
1933
Saturday's Children
1940
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Man's Favorite Sport?
Full Filmography
Man's Favorite Sport?
Major Phipps
1964
Film
The Lucy Show
Mr. Foley · 1 episode
1962–1963
TV
December Bride
Charley Allen · 1 episode
1959
TV
Hennesey
Capt. Walter Shafer · 96 episodes
1959–
TV
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Ed Church · 1 episode
1958
TV
Onionhead
'Windy' Woods
1958
Film
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
Officer Carmody
1948
Film
Speed to Spare
Kangaroo
1948
Film
Devil's Cargo
Lt. Hardy
1948
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Roscoe Karns still alive?
Roscoe Karns passed away on February 6, 1970 at age 78.
What are the most famous roles of Roscoe Karns?
Roscoe Karns is best known for roles in It Happened One Night, His Girl Friday, Wings.
How many movies has Roscoe Karns been in?
Over a 55-year career (since 1915), Roscoe Karns has appeared in 129 movies and 4 TV shows.
What was Roscoe Karns's first movie?
The career of Roscoe Karns began with Mr. Carlson of Arizona (1915).
What is Roscoe Karns's most recent movie or series?
Roscoe Karns's most recent release is Man's Favorite Sport?, which premiered on January 31, 1964.
What TV shows has Roscoe Karns appeared in?
On television, Roscoe Karns has appeared in The Lucy Show, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, December Bride, Hennesey.
Roscoe Karns
1891-09-06 · San Bernardino, California, USA
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.Roscoe Karns, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia