Acting · Saginaw, Michigan, USA · Born June 12, 1890
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.
MovieThe World of Tomorrow
1984
as Pop Middleton (archive footage)
TVThe Dakotas
1963
MovieGypsy
1962
as Grandpa
TVThe Virginian
1962
as Uncle Josh
MovieSummer and Smoke
1961
as Dr. Burke (uncredited)
MovieWild in the Country
1961
as Sam Tyler (uncredited)
TVAngel
1960
MovieYellowstone Kelly
1959
as Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
TVThe Untouchables
1959
as Michael Shaw
TVLock-Up
1959
TVRawhide
1959
as Claggert
MovieThe Buccaneer
1958
as Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian
TVBat Masterson
1958
as Jobe Crail
TVThe Texan
1958
as Jayson Howell
MovieMan or Gun
1958
as Justin Corley
MovieTouch of Evil
1958
as Chief Gould
TV26 Men
1957
TVThe Real McCoys
1957
TVThe Thin Man
1957
TVSugarfoot
1957
as Henry Shipman
TVHave Gun, Will Travel
1957
as Jesse
MovieThe Lonely Man
1957
as Dr. Fisher
MovieHell's Crossroads
1957
as Clay Ford
MovieDuel at Apache Wells
1957
as Wayne Shattuck
MovieThe Peacemaker
1956
as Drunken Cowpuncher
MovieWritten on the Wind
1956
as Hoak Wayne
TVWire Service
1956
as Harris Ellerby
State Trooper
1956
MovieCome Next Spring
1956
as Mr. Totter
MovieAt Gunpoint
1955
as Marshal Pete MacKay
TVAlfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Dr. Harner
MovieThe Marauders
1955
as John Rutherford
MovieThe Tall Men
1955
as Sam
TVCheyenne
1955
TVNavy Log
1955
TVGunsmoke
1955
as Bowers
MovieThe Violent Men
1955
as Purdue
TVThe Millionaire
1955
as Judge William Jennings Westholme
TVLassie
1954
MovieExecutive Suite
1954
as Ed Benedeck
MovieWitness to Murder
1954
as Captain Donnelly
MovieRails Into Laramie
1954
as Judge Pierce
MoviePhantom Stallion
1954
as Michael Reilly
MovieJack Slade
1953
as Tom Carter
TVThe Man Behind the Badge
1953
TVLetter to Loretta
1953
as Tom
MovieRoar of the Crowd
1953
as Sam 'Pop' Tracy
MovieCry of the Hunted
1953
as Sheriff Brown
MovieKansas Pacific
1953
as Smokestack the Train Engineer
TVThe Ford Television Theatre
1952
as Judge Varney
TVCavalcade of America
1952
MovieLure of the Wilderness
1952
as Pat McGowan
MovieFlesh and Fury
1952
as Mike Callan
MovieHigh Noon
1952
as Cooper
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Big Jim Heywood
MovieThe Scarf
1951
as Asylum Warden Anderson
MovieThe Lemon Drop Kid
1951
as John (Policeman)
MovieBlue Blood
1951
as Mr. Buchanan
MoviePride of Maryland
1951
as Walter Shannon
MovieAl Jennings of Oklahoma
1951
as Fred Salter
MovieHunt the Man Down
1950
as Wallace Bennett
MovieThe Flying Missile
1950
as Vice Admiral Williams
MovieThe Sound of Fury
1950
as Mr. Yaeger
MovieWhere Danger Lives
1950
as Dr. Maynard
MovieThe Killer That Stalked New York
1950
as Police Officer Houlihan
MovieThe Underworld Story
1950
as George Parker
MovieThree Little Words
1950
as Clanahan
MovieThe Gunfighter
1950
as Chuck (uncredited)
MovieCurtain Call at Cactus Creek
1950
as Clay
MovieCow Town
1950
as Sandy Reeves
MovieThe Jackie Robinson Story
1950
as Charlie
MovieSinging Guns
1950
as Judge Waller
MovieTarnished
1950
as Kelsey Bunker
MovieMary Ryan, Detective
1949
as Sawyer
MovieMr. Soft Touch
1949
as Police Sergeant Garrett
MovieTulsa
1949
as Nelse Lansing
MovieChampion
1949
as Lew
MovieRustlers
1949
as Sheriff Harmon
MovieFeudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
1948
as Chauncey
MovieBig Town Scandal
1948
as Police Captain Henry (uncredited)
MovieFighting Father Dunne
1948
as Thomas Lee
MovieMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
1948
as Tesander
MovieMy Girl Tisa
1948
MovieThe Lady from Shanghai
1947
as Cab Driver
MovieDangerous Years
1947
as Judge Raymond
MovieThe Invisible Wall
1947
as Det. Capt. R.W. Davis
MovieExposed
1947
as Severance
MovieTime Out of Mind
1947
as Capt. Rogers
MovieThe Farmer's Daughter
1947
as Mr. Holstrom
MovieNora Prentiss
1947
as Police Lieutenant
MovieThe Devil Thumbs a Ride
1947
as Detective Owens, San Diego Police
MovieThe Red House
1947
as Dr. Jonathan Byrne
MovieSan Quentin
1946
as Warden Kelly
MovieCrack-Up
1946
as Cop (Uncredited)
MovieThe Last Crooked Mile
1946
as Police Lieutenant Blake
MovieCanyon Passage
1946
as Henry McLane (uncredited)
MovieNight Editor
1946
as Capt. Lawrence
MovieI Ring Doorbells
1946
as Shannon
MoviePride of the Marines
1945
as Uncle Ralph
MovieCaptain Eddie
1945
as Simmons
MovieCrime, Inc.
1945
as Police Commissioner Collins
MovieWhen the Lights Go On Again
1944
as Tom Cary
MovieThe Mummy's Ghost
1944
as Sheriff Elwood
MovieThe Yellow Rose of Texas
1944
as Sam Weston
MovieTrue to Life
1943
as Mr. Mason
MovieIn Old Oklahoma
1943
as Charlie Witherspoon
MovieHeadin' for God's Country
1943
as Albert Ness
MovieSomeone to Remember
1943
as Tom Gibbons
MovieAlaska Highway
1943
as John 'Pop' Ormsby
MovieSong of Texas
1943
as Sam Bennett
MovieIdaho
1943
as Judge John Grey
MovieThe Powers Girl
1943
as Mr. Hendricks
MovieOnce Upon a Honeymoon
1942
as Ed Cumberland
MovieMrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1942
as Mr. Tim Wiggs
MovieThe Big Street
1942
as Florida Doctor (uncredited)
MovieIn Old California
1942
as Mr. Carlin
MovieThe Falcon Takes Over
1942
as Detective Grimes (Uncredited)
MovieThe Mad Martindales
1942
as Policeman
MovieThis Gun for Hire
1942
as Steve Finnerty
MovieThe Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
1942
as Pinky Dolan
MovieThe Lady Is Willing
1942
as Barnes
MovieHold Back the Dawn
1941
as American Immigration Official (uncredited)
MovieCitizen Kane
1941
as Jim Kane
MovieThe Saint In Palm Springs
1941
as Chief R.L. Graves
MovieTugboat Annie Sails Again
1940
as Capt. Mahoney
MovieToo Many Girls
1940
as Mr. Casey
MovieOne Crowded Night
1940
as McDermott
MovieThe Girl from Avenue A
1940
as Timson
MovieSailor's Lady
1940
as Father McGann
MovieGambling on the High Seas
1940
as Ed, Chief of Police
MovieTear Gas Squad
1940
as Lieutenant Sullivan
MovieYoung Tom Edison
1940
as Army Captain Brackett
MovieParole Fixer
1940
as Randall
MovieCity of Chance
1940
as Passline
MovieThe Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair
1939
as Father
MovieAlibi Mark
1937
as Railroad Detective
MovieShake, Mr. Shakespeare
1936
as Macbeth
MovieA Peach of a Pair
1934
MovieSmoked Hams
1934
as The Landlord
MovieNo More West
1934
as Bank Robber
Take a Chance
1933
as Bartender
MovieClose Relations
1933
as Harry Wart
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
1933
Wrongorilla
1933
as Grogan
The Campus Mystery
1932
as Police Sergeant
MovieHeads Up
1930
as Capt. Denny
MovieFaint Heart
1929
as Dynamite Dan
MovieSympathy
1929
as Larry
