Cast
Harry Shannon
Acting
Cast
Harry Shannon
Known for
Acting
Born
1890-06-12
From
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Died
1964-07-27
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.
Citizen Kane
as Jim Kane
High Noon
as Cooper
Touch of Evil
as Chief Gould
Canyon Passage
as Henry McLane (uncredited)
Executive Suite
as Ed Benedeck
The Lady from Shanghai
as Cab Driver
Gypsy
as Grandpa
Kansas Pacific
as Smokestack the Train Engineer
Night Editor
as Capt. Lawrence
Tulsa
as Nelse Lansing
The Gunfighter
as Chuck (uncredited)
The Tall Men
as Sam
The Falcon Takes Over
as Detective Grimes (Uncredited)
Yellowstone Kelly
as Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
Written on the Wind
as Hoak Wayne
In Old Oklahoma
as Charlie Witherspoon
The Big Street
as Florida Doctor (uncredited)
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
as Fred Salter
Champion
as Lew
The Buccaneer
as Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian
Alibi Mark
as Railroad Detective
Phantom Stallion
as Michael Reilly
This Gun for Hire
as Steve Finnerty
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
as Tesander
Wild in the Country
as Sam Tyler (uncredited)
At Gunpoint
as Marshal Pete MacKay
The Killer That Stalked New York
as Police Officer Houlihan
Tear Gas Squad
as Lieutenant Sullivan
The Violent Men
as Purdue
Summer and Smoke
as Dr. Burke (uncredited)
The Farmer's Daughter
as Mr. Holstrom
The Peacemaker
as Drunken Cowpuncher
Crime, Inc.
as Police Commissioner Collins
Crack-Up
as Cop (Uncredited)
The Red House
as Dr. Jonathan Byrne
Mr. Soft Touch
as Police Sergeant Garrett
Nora Prentiss
as Police Lieutenant
In Old California
as Mr. Carlin
Rustlers
as Sheriff Harmon
Young Tom Edison
as Army Captain Brackett
The Lonely Man
as Dr. Fisher
The Scarf
as Asylum Warden Anderson
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
as Pinky Dolan
The Mummy's Ghost
as Sheriff Elwood
The Lemon Drop Kid
as John (Policeman)
The Last Crooked Mile
as Police Lieutenant Blake
Once Upon a Honeymoon
as Ed Cumberland
The Underworld Story
as George Parker
Time Out of Mind
as Capt. Rogers
Song of Texas
as Sam Bennett
Dangerous Years
as Judge Raymond
Singing Guns
as Judge Waller
The Jackie Robinson Story
as Charlie
The Lady Is Willing
as Barnes
Idaho
as Judge John Grey
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
as Chauncey
The Yellow Rose of Texas
as Sam Weston
Three Little Words
as Clanahan
True to Life
as Mr. Mason
The Flying Missile
as Vice Admiral Williams
Exposed
as Severance
City of Chance
as Passline
Rails Into Laramie
as Judge Pierce
Flesh and Fury
as Mike Callan
Where Danger Lives
as Dr. Maynard
Hold Back the Dawn
as American Immigration Official (uncredited)
Cry of the Hunted
as Sheriff Brown
Sailor's Lady
as Father McGann
Witness to Murder
as Captain Donnelly
Man or Gun
as Justin Corley
Someone to Remember
as Tom Gibbons
Pride of the Marines
as Uncle Ralph
Big Town Scandal
as Police Captain Henry (uncredited)
Hunt the Man Down
as Wallace Bennett
My Girl Tisa
The Marauders
as John Rutherford
Wrongorilla
as Grogan
The Powers Girl
as Mr. Hendricks
Hell's Crossroads
as Clay Ford
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
as Capt. Mahoney
The Saint In Palm Springs
as Chief R.L. Graves
Roar of the Crowd
as Sam 'Pop' Tracy
Parole Fixer
as Randall
The Sound of Fury
as Mr. Yaeger
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
as Clay
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
as Detective Owens, San Diego Police
Lure of the Wilderness
as Pat McGowan
Tarnished
as Kelsey Bunker
Gambling on the High Seas
as Ed, Chief of Police
Fighting Father Dunne
as Thomas Lee
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Mr. Tim Wiggs
Captain Eddie
as Simmons
Jack Slade
as Tom Carter
Alaska Highway
as John 'Pop' Ormsby
Close Relations
as Harry Wart
The Mad Martindales
as Policeman
Mary Ryan, Detective
as Sawyer
Pride of Maryland
as Walter Shannon
Blue Blood
as Mr. Buchanan
Come Next Spring
as Mr. Totter
The Girl from Avenue A
as Timson
San Quentin
as Warden Kelly
Too Many Girls
as Mr. Casey
One Crowded Night
as McDermott
The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair
as Father
The World of Tomorrow
as Pop Middleton (archive footage)
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
When the Lights Go On Again
as Tom Cary
A Peach of a Pair
Duel at Apache Wells
as Wayne Shattuck
Take a Chance
as Bartender
Cow Town
as Sandy Reeves
Heads Up
as Capt. Denny
Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
as Macbeth
The Invisible Wall
as Det. Capt. R.W. Davis
Smoked Hams
as The Landlord
Headin' for God's Country
as Albert Ness
The Campus Mystery
as Police Sergeant
I Ring Doorbells
as Shannon
No More West
as Bank Robber
Sympathy
as Larry
Faint Heart
as Dynamite Dan