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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
June 12, 1890
Died
July 27, 1964
Place of Birth
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Harry Shannon
0.6 Popularity
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
1.0
Pop Middleton (archive footage)
The World of Tomorrow
1984
5.7
The Dakotas
1963
6.4
Grandpa
Gypsy
1962
6.5
Uncle Josh
The Virginian
1962
6.7
Dr. Burke (uncredited)
Summer and Smoke
1961
6.3
Sam Tyler (uncredited)
Wild in the Country
1961
2.8
Angel
1960
6.0
Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
Yellowstone Kelly
1959
6.2
Lock-Up
1959
7.2
Claggert
Rawhide
1959
Credits
The World of Tomorrow
as Pop Middleton (archive footage)
1984
1.0
The Dakotas
1963
5.7
Gypsy
as Grandpa
1962
6.4
The Virginian
as Uncle Josh
1962
6.5
Summer and Smoke
as Dr. Burke (uncredited)
1961
6.7
Wild in the Country
as Sam Tyler (uncredited)
1961
6.3
Angel
1960
2.8
Yellowstone Kelly
as Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
1959
6.0
Lock-Up
1959
6.2
Rawhide
as Claggert
1959
7.2
Rawhide
as Sheriff Blanton
1959
7.2
Rawhide
as Kilo
1959
7.2
The Buccaneer
as Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian
1958
6.4
Bat Masterson
as Jobe Crail
1958
6.1
The Texan
1958
5.5
Man or Gun
as Justin Corley
1958
2.5
Touch of Evil
as Chief Gould
1958
7.8
26 Men
1957
4.2
The Real McCoys
1957
5.6
The Thin Man
1957
7.6
Sugarfoot
as Henry Shipman
1957
4.8
Have Gun, Will Travel
as Jesse
1957
7.4
The Lonely Man
as Dr. Fisher
1957
6.1
Hell's Crossroads
as Clay Ford
1957
5.4
Duel at Apache Wells
as Wayne Shattuck
1957
4.0
The Peacemaker
as Drunken Cowpuncher
1956
3.7
Wire Service
as Harris Ellerby
1956
0.0
Written on the Wind
as Hoak Wayne
1956
6.9
State Trooper
1956
5.0
Come Next Spring
as Mr. Totter
1956
6.0
At Gunpoint
as Marshal Pete MacKay
1955
6.3
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Dr. Harner
1955
7.7
The Marauders
as John Rutherford
1955
5.3
The Tall Men
as Sam
1955
6.3
Cheyenne
1955
5.8
🎬
Navy Log
1955
4.5
Gunsmoke
as Bowers
1955
6.6
The Violent Men
as Purdue
1955
6.5
The Millionaire
as Judge William Jennings Westholme
1955
5.0
Lassie
1954
6.1
Executive Suite
as Ed Benedeck
1954
7.0
Witness to Murder
as Captain Donnelly
1954
6.2
Rails Into Laramie
as Judge Pierce
1954
6.3
Phantom Stallion
as Michael Reilly
1954
0.0
Jack Slade
as Tom Carter
1953
6.4
The Man Behind the Badge
1953
5.5
Letter to Loretta
as Tom
1953
6.5
Roar of the Crowd
as Sam 'Pop' Tracy
1953
0.0
Cry of the Hunted
as Sheriff Brown
1953
5.8
Kansas Pacific
as Smokestack the Train Engineer
1953
4.8
Cavalcade of America
1952
3.5
Cavalcade of America
as Samuel Morse
1952
3.5
Lure of the Wilderness
as Pat McGowan
1952
6.0
Flesh and Fury
as Mike Callan
1952
6.1
High Noon
as Cooper
1952
7.7
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Big Jim Heywood
1951
7.3
The Scarf
as Asylum Warden Anderson
1951
5.7
The Lemon Drop Kid
as John (Policeman)
1951
6.5
Blue Blood
as Mr. Buchanan
1951
0.0
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
as Fred Salter
1951
5.0
Hunt the Man Down
as Wallace Bennett
1950
6.2
The Flying Missile
as Vice Admiral Williams
1950
4.9
The Sound of Fury
as Mr. Yaeger
1950
6.5
Where Danger Lives
as Dr. Maynard
1950
6.4
The Killer That Stalked New York
as Police Officer Houlihan
1950
6.1
The Underworld Story
as George Parker
1950
6.1
Three Little Words
as Clanahan
1950
5.9
The Gunfighter
as Chuck (uncredited)
1950
7.3
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
as Clay
1950
6.3
Cow Town
as Sandy Reeves
1950
4.0
The Jackie Robinson Story
as Charlie
1950
6.4
Singing Guns
as Judge Waller
1950
5.8
Tarnished
as Kelsey Bunker
1950
5.8
Mary Ryan, Detective
as Sawyer
1949
5.6
Mr. Soft Touch
as Police Sergeant Garrett
1949
6.8
Tulsa
as Nelse Lansing
1949
6.1
Champion
as Lew
1949
6.6
Rustlers
as Sheriff Harmon
1949
5.3
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
as Chauncey
1948
6.5
Big Town Scandal
as Police Captain Henry (uncredited)
1948
5.0
Fighting Father Dunne
as Thomas Lee
1948
6.0
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
as Tesander
1948
7.0
My Girl Tisa
1948
0.0
The Lady from Shanghai
as Cab Driver
1947
7.3
Dangerous Years
as Judge Raymond
1947
6.4
The Invisible Wall
as Det. Capt. R.W. Davis
1947
5.4
Exposed
as Severance
1947
5.8
Time Out of Mind
as Capt. Rogers
1947
5.3
The Farmer's Daughter
as Mr. Holstrom
1947
6.9
Nora Prentiss
as Police Lieutenant
1947
6.1
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
as Detective Owens, San Diego Police
1947
6.5
The Red House
as Dr. Jonathan Byrne
1947
6.2
San Quentin
as Warden Kelly
1946
6.3
Crack-Up
as Cop (Uncredited)
1946
5.6
The Last Crooked Mile
as Police Lieutenant Blake
1946
5.0
Canyon Passage
as Henry McLane (uncredited)
1946
6.6
Night Editor
as Capt. Lawrence
1946
5.6
I Ring Doorbells
as Shannon
1946
0.0
Pride of the Marines
as Uncle Ralph
1945
6.5
Captain Eddie
as Simmons
1945
6.0
Crime, Inc.
as Police Commissioner Collins
1945
4.2
When the Lights Go On Again
as Tom Cary
1944
5.5
The Mummy's Ghost
as Sheriff Elwood
1944
5.7
The Yellow Rose of Texas
as Sam Weston
1944
5.0
True to Life
as Mr. Mason
1943
6.0
In Old Oklahoma
as Charlie Witherspoon
1943
6.2
Headin' for God's Country
as Albert Ness
1943
0.0
Someone to Remember
as Tom Gibbons
1943
7.0
Alaska Highway
as John 'Pop' Ormsby
1943
5.0
Song of Texas
as Sam Bennett
1943
5.0
Idaho
as Judge John Grey
1943
5.7
The Powers Girl
as Mr. Hendricks
1943
6.5
Once Upon a Honeymoon
as Ed Cumberland
1942
6.2
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Mr. Tim Wiggs
1942
0.0
The Big Street
as Florida Doctor (Uncredited)
1942
5.8
In Old California
as Mr. Carlin
1942
5.1
The Falcon Takes Over
as Detective Grimes (Uncredited)
1942
6.0
The Mad Martindales
as Policeman
1942
5.0
This Gun for Hire
as Steve Finnerty
1942
6.9
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
as Pinky Dolan
1942
6.0
The Lady Is Willing
as Barnes
1942
6.6
Hold Back the Dawn
as American Immigration Official (uncredited)
1941
6.7
Citizen Kane
as Jim Kane
1941
8.0
The Saint In Palm Springs
as Chief R.L. Graves
1941
5.7
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
as Capt. Mahoney
1940
5.5
Too Many Girls
as Mr. Casey
1940
5.7
One Crowded Night
as McDermott
1940
4.0
The Girl from Avenue A
as Timson
1940
0.0
Sailor's Lady
as Father McGann
1940
4.0
Gambling on the High Seas
as Ed, Chief of Police
1940
4.7
Tear Gas Squad
as Lieutenant Sullivan
1940
4.8
Young Tom Edison
as Army Captain Brackett
1940
5.6
Parole Fixer
as Randall
1940
0.0
City of Chance
as Passline
1940
5.2
The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair
as Father
1939
6.5
Alibi Mark
as Railroad Detective
1937
0.0
Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
as Macbeth
1936
5.0
A Peach of a Pair
1934
7.0
Smoked Hams
as The Landlord
1934
0.0
No More West
as Bank Robber
1934
0.0
🎬
Take a Chance
as Bartender
1933
4.0
Close Relations
as Harry Wart
1933
0.0
🎬
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
1933
7.0
🎬
Wrongorilla
as Grogan
1933
0.0
🎬
The Campus Mystery
as Police Sergeant
1932
0.0
Heads Up
as Capt. Denny
1930
0.0
Faint Heart
as Dynamite Dan
1929
0.0
Sympathy
as Larry
1929
1.0