It Happened One Night1934
As Oscar Shapeley
TMDb 7.8 / 10
Roscoe Karns
Born
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 (138)
His Girl Friday1940
As McCue
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Wings1927
As Lieutenant Cameron
TMDb 7.2 / 10
Woman of the Year1942
As Phil Whittaker
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Jazz Singer1927
As Agent (uncredited)
TMDb 6.1 / 10
They Drive by Night1940
As Irish McGurn
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Man's Favorite Sport?1964
As Major Phipps
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Alice in Wonderland1933
As Tweedledee
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Onionhead1958
As 'Windy' Woods
TMDb 5.5 / 10
If I Had a Million1932
As Private O'Brien
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Ten Commandments1923
As The Boy in the Rain (uncredited)
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Object: Alimony1928
As Al Bryant
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Today We Live1933
As McGinnis
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Dirigible1931
As Sock McGuire
TMDb 5.5 / 10
You and Me1938
As Cuffy
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Stage Door Canteen1943
As Roscoe Karns
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Twentieth Century1934
As Owen O'Malley
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Dollar Down1925
As Gene Meadows
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Footsteps in the Dark1941
As Monahan
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Woman in Red1935
As Man in court room (uncredited)
TMDb 6.0 / 10
My Son, The Hero1943
As Big-Time Morgan
TMDb 7.0 / 10
A Lady's Profession1933
As Tony
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Warming Up1928
As Hippo
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Petticoat Politics1941
As Joe Higgins
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Clarence1937
As Clarence Smith
TMDb 9.0 / 10
That's Right – You're Wrong1939
As Mal Stamp
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Gambling Ship1933
As Blooey
TMDb 5.6 / 10
The Trail of '981928
As Man on Ship (uncredited)
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Front Page Woman1935
As Toots O'Grady
TMDb 5.9 / 10
The Shopworn Angel1928
As Dance Director
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Thanks for the Memory1938
As George Kent
TMDb 5.8 / 10
That's My Man1947
As Toby Gleeton
TMDb 6.7 / 10
His Butler's Sister1943
As Fields
TMDb 7.2 / 10
The Navy Way1944
As Frankie Gimble
TMDb 6.3 / 10
You'd Be Surprised1926
As Party Guest (uncredited)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
A Tragedy at Midnight1942
As Cassidy
TMDb 5.2 / 10
Yokel Boy1942
As Al Devers
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Woman Trap1936
As Mopsy
TMDb 8.0 / 10
They Call It Sin1932
As Brad - Rehearsal Director (uncredited)
TMDb 6.0 / 10
The Flying Fleet1929
As Shipwrecked Radio Operator (uncredited)
TMDb 6.9 / 10
On Such a Night1937
As Joe Flynn
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Dangerous to Know1938
As Duncan
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Bluff1924
As Jack Hallowell
TMDb 10.0 / 10
High Pressure1932
As Telephone Salesman (uncredited)
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Wings in the Dark1935
As Nick Williams
TMDb 6.4 / 10
One Way Passage1932
As S.S. Maloa Bartender (uncredited)
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Four Hours to Kill!1935
As Johnson
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Week-End Marriage1932
As Jim Davis
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Stowaway1932
As Insp. Redding
TMDb 6.5 / 10
You Can't Escape Forever1942
As 'Mac' McTurk
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Old Acquaintance1943
As Charlie Archer
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Night of Mystery1937
As Sergeant Heath
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Women in His Life1933
As Aloysius Lester
TMDb 4.3 / 10
Riding High1943
As Shorty
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Lawyer Man1932
As Merritt - Reporter (uncredited)
TMDb 6.1 / 10
One Way to Love1946
As Hobie Simmons
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Inside Story1948
As Eustace Peabody
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Everything's on Ice1939
As Felix Miller
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Speed to Spare1948
As Kangaroo
TMDb 6.7 / 10
King of Chinatown1939
As Rip Harrigan
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Murder Goes to College1937
As Sim Perkins
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven1948
As Officer Carmody
TMDb 5.8 / 10
This Thing Called Love1929
As Harry Bertrand
TMDb 9.0 / 10
I Ring Doorbells1946
As Stubby
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Beggars of Life1928
As Lame Hoppy
TMDb 7.1 / 10
The Gay Vagabond1941
As Arthur Dixon / Jerry Dixon
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Shoot the Works1934
As Sailor Burke
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Cain and Mabel1936
As Reilly
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Ladies Must Live1940
As Pete Larrabee
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Alibi Ike1935
As Carey
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Ladies of the Big House1931
As Frank - Twenty Questions player (uncredited)
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Little Accident1930
As Gilbert
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Laughing Sinners1931
As Fred Geer
TMDb 5.3 / 10
The Life of the Party1920
As Sam Perkins
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Play Girl1932
As Gambler (uncredited)
TMDb 5.0 / 10
One Sunday Afternoon1933
As Snappy Downer
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Moran of the Marines1928
As Swatty
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Midnight Express1924
As Switch Hogan
TMDb 4.7 / 10
I Sell Anything1934
As Monk
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Dancing Co-Ed1939
As Joe Drews
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Come On, Marines!1934
As Spud McGurke
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Saturday's Children1940
As Willie Sands
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Night After Night1932
As Leo
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Three Cheers for Love
Three Cheers for Love1936
As Doc 'Short Circuit' Wilson
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Road to Happiness1941
As Charley Grady
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Many a Slip1931
As Stan Price
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Copy1929
As City Editor John Mack
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Scandal Street1938
As Austin Brown
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Minstrel Man1944
As Lasses White
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Grand Slam1933
As Contest Radio Announcer
TMDb 4.6 / 10
Troopers Three1930
As Bugs
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Tip-Off Girls1938
As Tom Benson aka Tommy Logan
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Vigilantes of Boomtown1947
As Bill Delaney
TMDb 4.3 / 10
Under-Cover Man1932
As Dannie
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Conquering the Woman1922
As Shorty Thompson
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Red Hot Tires1935
As Bud Keene
TMDb 6.0 / 10
The Roadhouse Murder1932
As Dale
TMDb 5.0 / 10
The Family Honor1920
As Dal Tucker
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Border Flight1936
As Calico Smith
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Gorilla1930
As Simmons
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Her Own Money1922
As Jerry Woodward
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Half Shot at Sunrise1941
As Henry Warren
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Two Against the World1932
As Segall, reporter
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Left Over Ladies1931
As 'Scoop'
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Two-Fisted1935
As Chick Moran
TMDb 8.5 / 10
Mr. Carlson of Arizona
Mr. Carlson of Arizona1915
Safety in Numbers1930
As Bertram Shapiro
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Hi, Good Lookin'!1944
As Archie
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Something Always Happens1928
As George
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Crooked Circle1932
As Harry Carter
TMDb 5.2 / 10
Jazz Mad1928
As Sol Levy
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Partners in Crime1937
As Sim Perkins
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Elmer and Elsie
Elmer and Elsie1934
As Rocky Cott
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Avalanche1946
As Red Kelly
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Three Married Men1936
As Peter Cary
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Black Eyes and Blues
Black Eyes and Blues1941
As Alfred Harmon
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Double Alibi1940
As Jeremiah Jenkins
TMDb 5.3 / 10
New York Nights1929
As Johnny Dolan
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Meet the Missus1940
As Joe Higgins
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Foolish Virgin1924
As Chuck Brady
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Beau Sabreur1928
As Buddy
TMDb 9.0 / 10
Devil's Cargo1948
As Lt. Hardy
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Win That Girl1928
As Johnny Norton II
TMDb 10.0 / 10
From Champion to Tramp
From Champion to Tramp1915
As The Girl's Father
TMDb 9.0 / 10
A Species of Mexican Man
A Species of Mexican Man1915
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Other Men's Daughters1923
As Hubert
TMDb 8.0 / 10
The Overland Limited1925
As Patrick Henry Madden
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Vanishing Pioneer1928
As Ray Hearn
TMDb 9.0 / 10
The Desert Bride1928
As Pvt. Terry
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Ten Modern Commandments1927
As Benny Burnaway
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Pleasure1931
As Arnie
TMDb 4.2 / 10
The Costello Case1930
As Blair
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Poor Relations1919
As Henry
TMDb 8.0 / 10
A Western Governor's Humanity
A Western Governor's Humanity1915
As The Sheriff
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Man Tamer1921
As Bradley P. Caldwell Jr
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Trouper1922
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Ritzy1927
As Smith's Valet
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Man Trouble1930
As Scott
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Filmography and biography: TMDb