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