Known For
Acting
Born
Jun 12, 1890
Died
Jul 27, 1964
Place of Birth
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Credits
149 titles
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
Filmography
The World of Tomorrow
Pop Middleton (archive footage)
The Dakotas
Gypsy
Grandpa
The Virginian
Uncle Josh
Summer and Smoke
Dr. Burke (uncredited)
Wild in the Country
Sam Tyler (uncredited)
Angel
Yellowstone Kelly
Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
The Untouchables
Michael Shaw
Lock-Up
Rawhide
Claggert
The Buccaneer
Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian
Bat Masterson
Jobe Crail
The Texan
Jayson Howell
Man or Gun
Justin Corley
Touch of Evil
Chief Gould
26 Men
The Real McCoys
The Thin Man
Sugarfoot
Henry Shipman
Have Gun, Will Travel
Jesse
The Lonely Man
Dr. Fisher
Hell's Crossroads
Clay Ford
Duel at Apache Wells
Wayne Shattuck
The Peacemaker
Drunken Cowpuncher
Wire Service
Harris Ellerby
Written on the Wind
Hoak Wayne
State Trooper
Come Next Spring
Mr. Totter
At Gunpoint
Marshal Pete MacKay
Crossroads
Detective Sergeant Dave Washburn
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Dr. Harner
The Marauders
John Rutherford
The Tall Men
Sam
Cheyenne
Navy Log
Gunsmoke
Bowers
The Violent Men
Purdue
The Millionaire
Judge William Jennings Westholme
Lassie
Executive Suite
Ed Benedeck
Witness to Murder
Captain Donnelly
Rails Into Laramie
Judge Pierce
Phantom Stallion
Michael Reilly
Jack Slade
Tom Carter
The Man Behind the Badge
Letter to Loretta
Tom
Roar of the Crowd
Sam 'Pop' Tracy
Cry of the Hunted
Sheriff Brown
Kansas Pacific
Smokestack the Train Engineer