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