Harry Shannon
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
Jim Kane
Citizen Kane
Cooper
High Noon
Chief Gould
Touch of Evil
My Girl Tisa
Cab Driver
The Lady from Shanghai
Dr. Maynard
Where Danger Lives
Dr. Jonathan Byrne
The Red House
John (Policeman)
The Lemon Drop Kid
Police Officer Houlihan
The Killer That Stalked New York
Tesander
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Police Lieutenant
Nora Prentiss
Sheriff Brown
Cry of the Hunted
Capt. Lawrence
Night Editor
A Peach of a Pair
George Parker
The Underworld Story
Police Commissioner Collins
Crime, Inc.
Asylum Warden Anderson
The Scarf
Detective Owens, San Diego Police
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
Dr. Fisher
The Lonely Man
Charlie
The Jackie Robinson Story
Mr. Holstrom
The Farmer's Daughter
Captain Donnelly
Witness to Murder
Passline
City of Chance
Steve Finnerty
This Gun for Hire
Wallace Bennett
Hunt the Man Down
Det. Capt. R.W. Davis
The Invisible Wall
Grandpa
Gypsy
Smokestack the Train Engineer
Kansas Pacific
Hoak Wayne
Written on the Wind
Police Sergeant Garrett
Mr. Soft Touch
Police Lieutenant Blake
The Last Crooked Mile
Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
Yellowstone Kelly
Warden Kelly
San Quentin
Chief R.L. Graves
The Saint In Palm Springs
Justin Corley
Man or Gun
Mike Callan
Flesh and Fury
Nelse Lansing
Tulsa
Severance
Exposed
Marshal Pete MacKay
At Gunpoint
Sawyer
Mary Ryan, Detective
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
Railroad Detective
Alibi Mark
Tom Cary
When the Lights Go On Again
Sam Weston
The Yellow Rose of Texas
Sam Bennett
Song of Texas
Judge Waller
Singing Guns
Clay Ford
Hell's Crossroads
The Landlord
Smoked Hams
Judge John Grey
Idaho
Wayne Shattuck
Duel at Apache Wells
John Rutherford
The Marauders
Clay
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
Capt. Mahoney
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
Judge Pierce
Rails Into Laramie
Pinky Dolan
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
Tom Carter
Jack Slade
Vice Admiral Williams
The Flying Missile
Mr. Mason
True to Life
Pat McGowan
Lure of the Wilderness
Purdue
The Violent Men
Mr. Totter
Come Next Spring
Fred Salter
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
Clanahan
Three Little Words
Sam Tyler (uncredited)
Wild in the Country
Mr. Tim Wiggs
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Capt. Rogers
Time Out of Mind
Thomas Lee
Fighting Father Dunne
Capt. Denny
Heads Up
Mr. Hendricks
The Powers Girl
Dr. Burke (uncredited)
Summer and Smoke
Judge Raymond
Dangerous Years
Ed Cumberland
Once Upon a Honeymoon
John 'Pop' Ormsby
Alaska Highway
Father McGann
Sailor's Lady
Father
The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair
Shannon
I Ring Doorbells
Macbeth
Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
Michael Reilly
Phantom Stallion
Police Captain Henry (uncredited)
Big Town Scandal
Randall
Parole Fixer
Pop Middleton (archive footage)
The World of Tomorrow
Army Captain Brackett
Young Tom Edison
American Immigration Official (uncredited)
Hold Back the Dawn
Chauncey
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
Chuck (uncredited)
The Gunfighter
Sheriff Harmon
Rustlers
Mr. Carlin
In Old California
Mr. Casey
Too Many Girls
Lew
Champion
Grogan
Wrongorilla
Tom Gibbons
Someone to Remember
Sandy Reeves
Cow Town
Bartender
Take a Chance
Larry
Sympathy
Harry Wart
Close Relations
Dynamite Dan
Faint Heart
Sheriff Elwood
The Mummy's Ghost
Sam
The Tall Men
Drunken Cowpuncher
The Peacemaker
Ed, Chief of Police
Gambling on the High Seas
Bank Robber
No More West
Lieutenant Sullivan
Tear Gas Squad
McDermott
One Crowded Night
Charlie Witherspoon
In Old Oklahoma
Albert Ness
Headin' for God's Country
Detective Grimes (Uncredited)
The Falcon Takes Over
Mr. Buchanan
Blue Blood
Simmons
Captain Eddie
Barnes
The Lady Is Willing
Mr. Yaeger
The Sound of Fury
Sam 'Pop' Tracy
Roar of the Crowd
Kelsey Bunker
Tarnished
Ed Benedeck
Executive Suite
Florida Doctor (Uncredited)
The Big Street
Cop (Uncredited)
Crack-Up
Timson
The Girl from Avenue A
Policeman
The Mad Martindales
Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian
The Buccaneer
Uncle Ralph
Pride of the Marines
Henry McLane (uncredited)
Canyon Passage
Police Sergeant
The Campus Mystery
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
121
Gender
Male
Birthday
1890-06-12
Place of Birth
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Also Known As