Harry Shannon
Acting
- Born:
- 1890-06-12
- Died:
- 1964-07-27
- Place of birth:
- Saginaw, Michigan, USA
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
Filmography
The World of Tomorrow
The Dakotas
Gypsy
The Virginian
Summer and Smoke
Wild in the Country
Angel
Yellowstone Kelly
The Untouchables
Lock-Up
Rawhide
The Buccaneer
Bat Masterson
The Texan
Man or Gun
Touch of Evil
26 Men
The Real McCoys
The Thin Man
Sugarfoot
Have Gun, Will Travel
The Lonely Man
Hell's Crossroads
Duel at Apache Wells
The Peacemaker
Written on the Wind
Wire Service
State Trooper
Come Next Spring
At Gunpoint
Crossroads
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
The Marauders
The Tall Men
Cheyenne
Navy Log
Gunsmoke
The Violent Men
The Millionaire
Lassie
Executive Suite
Witness to Murder
Rails Into Laramie
Phantom Stallion
Jack Slade
The Man Behind the Badge
Letter to Loretta
Roar of the Crowd
Cry of the Hunted
Kansas Pacific
The Ford Television Theatre
Cavalcade of America
Lure of the Wilderness
Flesh and Fury
High Noon
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
The Scarf
The Lemon Drop Kid
Blue Blood
Pride of Maryland
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
Hunt the Man Down
The Flying Missile
The Sound of Fury
Where Danger Lives
The Killer That Stalked New York
The Underworld Story
Three Little Words
The Gunfighter
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
Cow Town
The Jackie Robinson Story
Singing Guns
Tarnished
Mary Ryan, Detective
Mr. Soft Touch
Tulsa
Champion
Rustlers
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
Big Town Scandal
Fighting Father Dunne
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
My Girl Tisa
The Lady from Shanghai
Dangerous Years
The Invisible Wall
Exposed
Time Out of Mind
The Farmer's Daughter
Nora Prentiss
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
The Red House
San Quentin
Crack-Up
The Last Crooked Mile
Canyon Passage
Night Editor
I Ring Doorbells
Pride of the Marines
Captain Eddie
Crime, Inc.
When the Lights Go On Again
The Mummy's Ghost
The Yellow Rose of Texas
True to Life
In Old Oklahoma
Headin' for God's Country
Someone to Remember
Alaska Highway
Song of Texas
Idaho
The Powers Girl
Once Upon a Honeymoon
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
The Big Street
In Old California
The Falcon Takes Over
The Mad Martindales
This Gun for Hire
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
The Lady Is Willing
Hold Back the Dawn
Citizen Kane
The Saint In Palm Springs
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
Too Many Girls
One Crowded Night
The Girl from Avenue A
Sailor's Lady
Gambling on the High Seas
Tear Gas Squad
Young Tom Edison
Parole Fixer
City of Chance
The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair
Alibi Mark
Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
A Peach of a Pair
Smoked Hams
No More West
Take a Chance
Close Relations
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
Wrongorilla
The Campus Mystery
Heads Up
Faint Heart
Sympathy