Roscoe Karns

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

140

Gender

Male

Birthday

1891-09-06

Day of death

1970-02-06 (78 years old)

Place of Birth

San Bernardino, California, USA

Roscoe Karns

Biography

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

Known For

  • The Lucy Show

    The Lucy Show

  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective

    Richard Diamond, Private Detective

  • Laughing Sinners

    Laughing Sinners

  • December Bride

    December Bride

  • December Bride

    December Bride

  • Dirigible

    Dirigible

  • The Desert Bride

    The Desert Bride

  • Yokel Boy

    Yokel Boy

  • Night of Mystery

    Night of Mystery

  • Pleasure

    Pleasure

  • Wings

    Wings

  • His Butler's Sister

    His Butler's Sister

  • You and Me

    You and Me

  • Lawyer Man

    Lawyer Man

  • Devil's Cargo

    Devil's Cargo

  • Something Always Happens

    Something Always Happens

  • Stowaway

    Stowaway

  • Gambling Ship

    Gambling Ship

  • Woman Trap

    Woman Trap

  • Mr. Carlson of Arizona

    Mr. Carlson of Arizona

  • Warming Up

    Warming Up

  • They Drive by Night

    They Drive by Night

  • Front Page Woman

    Front Page Woman

  • King of Chinatown

    King of Chinatown

  • Shoot the Works

    Shoot the Works

  • That's My Man

    That's My Man

  • Hi, Good Lookin'!

    Hi, Good Lookin'!

  • Onionhead

    Onionhead

  • You'd Be Surprised

    You'd Be Surprised

  • The Gay Vagabond

    The Gay Vagabond

  • A Lady's Profession

    A Lady's Profession

  • New York Nights

    New York Nights

  • My Son, The Hero

    My Son, The Hero

  • Ladies of the Big House

    Ladies of the Big House

  • Her Own Money

    Her Own Money

  • Beau Sabreur

    Beau Sabreur

  • Black Eyes and Blues

    Black Eyes and Blues

  • The Shopworn Angel

    The Shopworn Angel

  • His Girl Friday

    His Girl Friday

  • Hennesey

    Hennesey

  • Petticoat Politics

    Petticoat Politics

  • Win That Girl

    Win That Girl

  • Clarence

    Clarence

  • Many a Slip

    Many a Slip

  • It Happened One Night

    It Happened One Night

  • Play Girl

    Play Girl

  • One Way to Love

    One Way to Love

  • Beggars of Life

    Beggars of Life

  • Tip-Off Girls

    Tip-Off Girls

  • Man's Favorite Sport?

    Man's Favorite Sport?

  • The Family Honor

    The Family Honor

  • Rocky King, Detective

    Rocky King, Detective

  • Man Trouble

    Man Trouble

  • The Jazz Singer

    The Jazz Singer

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • Copy

    Copy

  • Today We Live

    Today We Live

  • They Call It Sin

    They Call It Sin

  • The Overland Limited

    The Overland Limited

  • Ladies Must Live

    Ladies Must Live

  • Twentieth Century

    Twentieth Century

  • Inside Detective

    Inside Detective

  • Woman of the Year

    Woman of the Year

  • Wings in the Dark

    Wings in the Dark

  • If I Had a Million

    If I Had a Million

  • The Ten Commandments

    The Ten Commandments

  • The Inside Story

    The Inside Story

  • Avalanche

    Avalanche

  • Stage Door Canteen

    Stage Door Canteen

  • Partners in Crime

    Partners in Crime

  • Night After Night

    Night After Night

  • One Sunday Afternoon

    One Sunday Afternoon

  • Dangerous to Know

    Dangerous to Know

  • Saturday's Children

    Saturday's Children

  • Riding High

    Riding High

  • Thanks for the Memory

    Thanks for the Memory

  • One Way Passage

    One Way Passage

  • A Tragedy at Midnight

    A Tragedy at Midnight

  • Little Accident

    Little Accident

  • Double Alibi

    Double Alibi

  • Cain and Mabel

    Cain and Mabel

  • Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

    Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

  • The Flying Fleet

    The Flying Fleet

  • The Life of the Party

    The Life of the Party

  • Old Acquaintance

    Old Acquaintance

  • Come On, Marines!

    Come On, Marines!

  • Murder Goes to College

    Murder Goes to College

  • The Woman in Red

    The Woman in Red

  • On Such a Night

    On Such a Night

  • That's Right – You're Wrong

    That's Right – You're Wrong

  • The Midnight Express

    The Midnight Express

  • I Sell Anything

    I Sell Anything

  • The Trail of '98

    The Trail of '98

  • Footsteps in the Dark

    Footsteps in the Dark

  • Meet the Missus

    Meet the Missus

  • Minstrel Man

    Minstrel Man

  • Left Over Ladies

    Left Over Ladies

  • Under-Cover Man

    Under-Cover Man

  • Grand Slam

    Grand Slam

  • The Navy Way

    The Navy Way

  • The Roadhouse Murder

    The Roadhouse Murder

  • You Can't Escape Forever

    You Can't Escape Forever

  • Alibi Ike

    Alibi Ike

  • Road to Happiness

    Road to Happiness

  • Scandal Street

    Scandal Street

  • Border Flight

    Border Flight

  • Dancing Co-Ed

    Dancing Co-Ed

  • Week-End Marriage

    Week-End Marriage

  • Four Hours to Kill!

    Four Hours to Kill!

  • Two-Fisted

    Two-Fisted

  • The Gorilla

    The Gorilla

  • Vigilantes of Boomtown

    Vigilantes of Boomtown

  • I Ring Doorbells

    I Ring Doorbells

  • A Species of Mexican Man

    A Species of Mexican Man

  • Safety in Numbers

    Safety in Numbers

  • Everything's on Ice

    Everything's on Ice

  • Red Hot Tires

    Red Hot Tires

  • The Trouper

    The Trouper

  • Speed to Spare

    Speed to Spare

  • The Vanishing Pioneer

    The Vanishing Pioneer

  • Poor Relations

    Poor Relations

  • Three Married Men

    Three Married Men

  • The Women in His Life

    The Women in His Life

  • Jazz Mad

    Jazz Mad

  • The Costello Case

    The Costello Case

  • Bluff

    Bluff

  • This Thing Called Love

    This Thing Called Love

  • Two Against the World

    Two Against the World

  • Troopers Three

    Troopers Three

  • The Crooked Circle

    The Crooked Circle

  • Other Men's Daughters

    Other Men's Daughters

  • Ten Modern Commandments

    Ten Modern Commandments

  • Moran of the Marines

    Moran of the Marines

  • The Man Tamer

    The Man Tamer

  • Half Shot at Sunrise

    Half Shot at Sunrise

  • Conquering the Woman

    Conquering the Woman

  • Object: Alimony

    Object: Alimony

  • Ritzy

    Ritzy

  • From Champion to Tramp

    From Champion to Tramp

  • A Western Governor's Humanity

    A Western Governor's Humanity