Roscoe Karns

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

137

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

  • The Trail of '98

    The Trail of '98

  • If I Had a Million

    If I Had a Million

  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective

    Richard Diamond, Private Detective

  • From Champion to Tramp

    From Champion to Tramp

  • Left Over Ladies

    Left Over Ladies

  • December Bride

    December Bride

  • December Bride

    December Bride

  • Murder Goes to College

    Murder Goes to College

  • Week-End Marriage

    Week-End Marriage

  • One Way Passage

    One Way Passage

  • Two-Fisted

    Two-Fisted

  • Safety in Numbers

    Safety in Numbers

  • Laughing Sinners

    Laughing Sinners

  • Minstrel Man

    Minstrel Man

  • Wings

    Wings

  • Hennesey

    Hennesey

  • Thanks for the Memory

    Thanks for the Memory

  • Beau Sabreur

    Beau Sabreur

  • The Ten Commandments

    The Ten Commandments

  • Warming Up

    Warming Up

  • Pleasure

    Pleasure

  • Jazz Mad

    Jazz Mad

  • The Jazz Singer

    The Jazz Singer

  • Yokel Boy

    Yokel Boy

  • It Happened One Night

    It Happened One Night

  • The Inside Story

    The Inside Story

  • Border Flight

    Border Flight

  • Riding High

    Riding High

  • The Trouper

    The Trouper

  • The Women in His Life

    The Women in His Life

  • The Gorilla

    The Gorilla

  • Avalanche

    Avalanche

  • Dirigible

    Dirigible

  • Gambling Ship

    Gambling Ship

  • Lawyer Man

    Lawyer Man

  • Onionhead

    Onionhead

  • His Girl Friday

    His Girl Friday

  • Man Trouble

    Man Trouble

  • Two Against the World

    Two Against the World

  • Man's Favorite Sport?

    Man's Favorite Sport?

  • Woman of the Year

    Woman of the Year

  • Woman Trap

    Woman Trap

  • Speed to Spare

    Speed to Spare

  • Wings in the Dark

    Wings in the Dark

  • Double Alibi

    Double Alibi

  • Copy

    Copy

  • The Woman in Red

    The Woman in Red

  • On Such a Night

    On Such a Night

  • The Roadhouse Murder

    The Roadhouse Murder

  • The Crooked Circle

    The Crooked Circle

  • You and Me

    You and Me

  • Rocky King, Detective

    Rocky King, Detective

  • Everything's on Ice

    Everything's on Ice

  • Come On, Marines!

    Come On, Marines!

  • Ladies of the Big House

    Ladies of the Big House

  • Beggars of Life

    Beggars of Life

  • Road to Happiness

    Road to Happiness

  • Moran of the Marines

    Moran of the Marines

  • Four Hours to Kill!

    Four Hours to Kill!

  • I Ring Doorbells

    I Ring Doorbells

  • Many a Slip

    Many a Slip

  • Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

    Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

  • Clarence

    Clarence

  • Play Girl

    Play Girl

  • Stage Door Canteen

    Stage Door Canteen

  • Under-Cover Man

    Under-Cover Man

  • This Thing Called Love

    This Thing Called Love

  • Hi, Good Lookin'!

    Hi, Good Lookin'!

  • Dangerous to Know

    Dangerous to Know

  • Front Page Woman

    Front Page Woman

  • Cain and Mabel

    Cain and Mabel

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • Today We Live

    Today We Live

  • The Costello Case

    The Costello Case

  • Ten Modern Commandments

    Ten Modern Commandments

  • One Sunday Afternoon

    One Sunday Afternoon

  • Night of Mystery

    Night of Mystery

  • New York Nights

    New York Nights

  • King of Chinatown

    King of Chinatown

  • Petticoat Politics

    Petticoat Politics

  • Saturday's Children

    Saturday's Children

  • Night After Night

    Night After Night

  • That's My Man

    That's My Man

  • They Call It Sin

    They Call It Sin

  • Three Married Men

    Three Married Men

  • My Son, The Hero

    My Son, The Hero

  • Black Eyes and Blues

    Black Eyes and Blues

  • The Flying Fleet

    The Flying Fleet

  • You Can't Escape Forever

    You Can't Escape Forever

  • Dancing Co-Ed

    Dancing Co-Ed

  • Devil's Cargo

    Devil's Cargo

  • The Man Tamer

    The Man Tamer

  • The Shopworn Angel

    The Shopworn Angel

  • Old Acquaintance

    Old Acquaintance

  • They Drive by Night

    They Drive by Night

  • You'd Be Surprised

    You'd Be Surprised

  • Tip-Off Girls

    Tip-Off Girls

  • His Butler's Sister

    His Butler's Sister

  • Red Hot Tires

    Red Hot Tires

  • The Family Honor

    The Family Honor

  • Something Always Happens

    Something Always Happens

  • Meet the Missus

    Meet the Missus

  • Ritzy

    Ritzy

  • Shoot the Works

    Shoot the Works

  • That's Right – You're Wrong

    That's Right – You're Wrong

  • A Tragedy at Midnight

    A Tragedy at Midnight

  • The Desert Bride

    The Desert Bride

  • Her Own Money

    Her Own Money

  • A Lady's Profession

    A Lady's Profession

  • One Way to Love

    One Way to Love

  • Twentieth Century

    Twentieth Century

  • The Gay Vagabond

    The Gay Vagabond

  • Inside Detective

    Inside Detective

  • Stowaway

    Stowaway

  • The Life of the Party

    The Life of the Party

  • Win That Girl

    Win That Girl

  • Troopers Three

    Troopers Three

  • Ladies Must Live

    Ladies Must Live

  • The Midnight Express

    The Midnight Express

  • Other Men's Daughters

    Other Men's Daughters

  • Partners in Crime

    Partners in Crime

  • Footsteps in the Dark

    Footsteps in the Dark

  • Scandal Street

    Scandal Street

  • Mr. Carlson of Arizona

    Mr. Carlson of Arizona

  • The Navy Way

    The Navy Way

  • Grand Slam

    Grand Slam

  • The Vanishing Pioneer

    The Vanishing Pioneer

  • The Overland Limited

    The Overland Limited

  • Little Accident

    Little Accident

  • Alibi Ike

    Alibi Ike

  • Vigilantes of Boomtown

    Vigilantes of Boomtown

  • I Sell Anything

    I Sell Anything

  • Poor Relations

    Poor Relations

  • A Species of Mexican Man

    A Species of Mexican Man

  • Half Shot at Sunrise

    Half Shot at Sunrise

  • A Western Governor's Humanity

    A Western Governor's Humanity