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