7.8
7.8
It Happened One Night
1934
as Oscar Shapeley
Roscoe Karns
Acting
Born:September 6, 1891
Died:February 6, 1970(aged 78)
Birthplace:San Bernardino, California, USA
N/A
CommunityBiography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Roscoe Karns, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Filmography (125 movies)
7.4
7.4
His Girl Friday
1940
as McCue
7.3
7.3
One Way Passage
1932
as S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited)
7.2
7.2
Wings
1927
as Lieutenant Cameron
7.1
7.1
His Butler's Sister
1943
as Fields
7.1
7.1
Beggars of Life
1928
as Lame Hoppy
7.0
7.0
Troopers Three
1930
as Bugs
7.0
7.0
Old Acquaintance
1943
as Charlie Archer
7.0
7.0
One Way to Love
1946
as Hobie Simmons
7.0
7.0
Two-Fisted
1935
as Chick Moran
6.9
6.9
They Drive by Night
1940
as Irish McGurn
6.9
6.9
Man's Favorite Sport?
1964
as Major Phipps
6.9
6.9
Woman of the Year
1942
as Phil Whittaker
6.9
6.9
Footsteps in the Dark
1941
as Monahan
6.8
6.8
Twentieth Century
1934
as Owen O'Malley
6.6
6.6
If I Had a Million
1932
as Private O'Brien
6.5
6.5
You and Me
1938
as Cuffy
6.5
6.5
You'd Be Surprised
1926
as Party Guest (uncredited)
6.5
6.5
The Inside Story
1948
as Eustace Peabody
6.4
6.4
Saturday's Children
1940
as Willie Sands
6.4
6.4
Wings in the Dark
1935
as Nick Williams
6.3
6.3
One Sunday Afternoon
1933
as Snappy Downer
6.3
6.3
The Flying Fleet
1929
as Shipwrecked Radio Operator (uncredited)
6.2
6.2
Today We Live
1933
as McGinnis
6.2
6.2
Night After Night
1932
as Leo
6.2
6.2
Dancing Co-Ed
1939
as Joe Drews
6.1
6.1
Dangerous to Know
1938
as Duncan
6.1
6.1
Cain and Mabel
1936
as Reilly
6.1
6.1
The Jazz Singer
1927
as Agent (uncredited)
6.0
6.0
Alice in Wonderland
1933
as Tweedledee
6.0
6.0
Border Flight
1936
as Calico Smith
6.0
6.0
That's My Man
1947
as Toby Gleeton
6.0
6.0
Ladies Must Live
1940
as Pete Larrabee
6.0
6.0
Tip-Off Girls
1938
as Tom Benson aka Tommy Logan
5.9
5.9
The Trail of '98
1928
as Man on Ship (uncredited)
5.8
5.8
King of Chinatown
1939
as Rip Harrigan
5.8
5.8
Alibi Ike
1935
as Carey
5.8
5.8
Lawyer Man
1932
as Merritt - Reporter (uncredited)
5.8
5.8
Front Page Woman
1935
as Toots O'Grady
5.8
5.8
They Call It Sin
1932
as Brad - Rehearsal Director (uncredited)
5.8
5.8
Red Hot Tires
1935
as Bud Keene
5.7
5.7
The Navy Way
1944
as Frankie Gimble
5.7
5.7
That's Right – You're Wrong
1939
as Mal Stamp
5.7
5.7
Hi, Good Lookin'!
1944
as Archie
5.6
5.6
Thanks for the Memory
1938
as George Kent
5.5
5.5
Road to Happiness
1941
as Charley Grady
5.5
5.5
Devil's Cargo
1948
as Lt. Hardy
5.4
5.4
You Can't Escape Forever
1942
as 'Mac' McTurk
5.3
5.3
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1948
as Officer Carmody
5.2
5.2
Gambling Ship
1933
as Blooey
5.2
5.2
The Life of the Party
1920
as Sam Perkins
5.1
5.1
Two Against the World
1932
as Segall, reporter
5.1
5.1
Laughing Sinners
1931
as Fred Geer
5.0
5.0
Safety in Numbers
1930
as Bertram Shapiro
5.0
5.0
Week-End Marriage
1932
as Jim Davis
5.0
5.0
Four Hours to Kill!
1935
as Johnson
5.0
5.0
Stowaway
1932
as Insp. Redding
5.0
5.0
Minstrel Man
1944
as Lasses White
5.0
5.0
My Son, The Hero
1943
as Big-Time Morgan
5.0
5.0
Man Trouble
1930
as Scott
5.0
5.0
Speed to Spare
1948
as Kangaroo
5.0
5.0
Shoot the Works
1934
as Sailor Burke
5.0
5.0
Dirigible
1931
as Sock McGuire
4.9
4.9
Onionhead
1958
as 'Windy' Woods
4.8
4.8
New York Nights
1929
as Johnny Dolan
4.8
4.8
The Crooked Circle
1932
as Harry Carter
4.7
4.7
Yokel Boy
1942
as Al Devers
4.7
4.7
A Tragedy at Midnight
1942
as Cassidy
4.7
4.7
The Desert Bride
1928
as Pvt. Terry
4.5
4.5
I Sell Anything
1934
as Monk
4.5
4.5
Under-Cover Man
1932
as Dannie
4.5
4.5
Come On, Marines!
1934
as Spud McGurke
4.5
4.5
Everything's on Ice
1939
as Felix Miller
4.5
4.5
Riding High
1943
as Shorty
4.5
4.5
Play Girl
1932
as Gambler (uncredited)
4.3
4.3
The Roadhouse Murder
1932
as Dale
4.0
4.0
Double Alibi
1940
as Jeremiah Jenkins
4.0
4.0
Grand Slam
1933
as Contest Radio Announcer
3.5
3.5
The Women in His Life
1933
as Aloysius Lester
3.0
3.0
Murder Goes to College
1937
as Sim Perkins
3.0
3.0
The Midnight Express
1924
as Switch Hogan
2.7
2.7
Pleasure
1931
as Arnie
2.5
2.5
Vigilantes of Boomtown
1947
as Bill Delaney
The Gorilla
1930
as Simmons
Avalanche
1946
as Red Kelly
I Ring Doorbells
1946
as Stubby
The Gay Vagabond
1941
as Arthur Dixon / Jerry Dixon
Black Eyes and Blues
1941
as Alfred Harmon
Woman Trap
1936
as Mopsy
Clarence
1937
as Clarence Smith
Half Shot at Sunrise
1941
as Henry Warren
Beau Sabreur
1928
as Buddy
Jazz Mad
1928
as Sol Levy
The Vanishing Pioneer
1928
as Ray Hearn
Meet the Missus
1940
as Joe Higgins
Left Over Ladies
1931
as 'Scoop'
Little Accident
1930
as Gilbert
Warming Up
1928
as Hippo
The Costello Case
1930
as Blair
Scandal Street
1938
as Austin Brown
A Lady's Profession
1933
as Tony
On Such a Night
1937
as Joe Flynn
Moran of the Marines
1928
as Swatty
This Thing Called Love
1929
as Harry Bertrand
The Overland Limited
1925
as Patrick Henry Madden
Something Always Happens
1928
as George
Many a Slip
1931
as Stan Price
Other Men's Daughters
1923
as Hubert
Her Own Money
1922
as Jerry Woodward
Ten Modern Commandments
1927
as Benny Burnaway
Win That Girl
1928
as Johnny Norton II
Partners in Crime
1937
as Sim Perkins
The Family Honor
1920
as Dal Tucker
Petticoat Politics
1941
as Joe Higgins
A Western Governor's Humanity
1915
as The Sheriff
A Species of Mexican Man
1915
From Champion to Tramp
1915
as The Girl's Father
Night of Mystery
1937
as Sergeant Heath
Mr. Carlson of Arizona
1915
Poor Relations
1919
as Henry
The Shopworn Angel
1928
as Dance Director
Three Married Men
1936
as Peter Cary
Copy
1929
as City Editor John Mack
The Man Tamer
1921
as Bradley P. Caldwell Jr
The Trouper
1922
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