Roscoe Karns

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

136

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

  • December Bride

    December Bride

  • December Bride

    December Bride

  • The Lucy Show

    The Lucy Show

  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective

    Richard Diamond, Private Detective

  • Hennesey

    Hennesey

  • King of Chinatown

    King of Chinatown

  • The Flying Fleet

    The Flying Fleet

  • If I Had a Million

    If I Had a Million

  • His Girl Friday

    His Girl Friday

  • Road to Happiness

    Road to Happiness

  • Left Over Ladies

    Left Over Ladies

  • His Butler's Sister

    His Butler's Sister

  • The Inside Story

    The Inside Story

  • The Crooked Circle

    The Crooked Circle

  • A Tragedy at Midnight

    A Tragedy at Midnight

  • Man Trouble

    Man Trouble

  • Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

    Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven

  • Thanks for the Memory

    Thanks for the Memory

  • I Ring Doorbells

    I Ring Doorbells

  • Alibi Ike

    Alibi Ike

  • Saturday's Children

    Saturday's Children

  • Minstrel Man

    Minstrel Man

  • Dirigible

    Dirigible

  • One Way Passage

    One Way Passage

  • The Roadhouse Murder

    The Roadhouse Murder

  • Rocky King, Detective

    Rocky King, Detective

  • Avalanche

    Avalanche

  • The Trouper

    The Trouper

  • The Jazz Singer

    The Jazz Singer

  • Dangerous to Know

    Dangerous to Know

  • Many a Slip

    Many a Slip

  • Woman of the Year

    Woman of the Year

  • Wings

    Wings

  • Murder Goes to College

    Murder Goes to College

  • Three Married Men

    Three Married Men

  • The Trail of '98

    The Trail of '98

  • The Costello Case

    The Costello Case

  • The Gorilla

    The Gorilla

  • Border Flight

    Border Flight

  • Jazz Mad

    Jazz Mad

  • Wings in the Dark

    Wings in the Dark

  • Under-Cover Man

    Under-Cover Man

  • Cain and Mabel

    Cain and Mabel

  • Riding High

    Riding High

  • Scandal Street

    Scandal Street

  • New York Nights

    New York Nights

  • Shoot the Works

    Shoot the Works

  • Laughing Sinners

    Laughing Sinners

  • Ten Modern Commandments

    Ten Modern Commandments

  • It Happened One Night

    It Happened One Night

  • Man's Favorite Sport?

    Man's Favorite Sport?

  • You and Me

    You and Me

  • The Woman in Red

    The Woman in Red

  • That's My Man

    That's My Man

  • One Sunday Afternoon

    One Sunday Afternoon

  • On Such a Night

    On Such a Night

  • Hi, Good Lookin'!

    Hi, Good Lookin'!

  • Double Alibi

    Double Alibi

  • Today We Live

    Today We Live

  • Ladies of the Big House

    Ladies of the Big House

  • The Desert Bride

    The Desert Bride

  • This Thing Called Love

    This Thing Called Love

  • Week-End Marriage

    Week-End Marriage

  • Two-Fisted

    Two-Fisted

  • Come On, Marines!

    Come On, Marines!

  • The Man Tamer

    The Man Tamer

  • Beggars of Life

    Beggars of Life

  • They Call It Sin

    They Call It Sin

  • The Overland Limited

    The Overland Limited

  • Safety in Numbers

    Safety in Numbers

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • The Ten Commandments

    The Ten Commandments

  • My Son, The Hero

    My Son, The Hero

  • Speed to Spare

    Speed to Spare

  • From Champion to Tramp

    From Champion to Tramp

  • Beau Sabreur

    Beau Sabreur

  • Four Hours to Kill!

    Four Hours to Kill!

  • Devil's Cargo

    Devil's Cargo

  • Everything's on Ice

    Everything's on Ice

  • Stowaway

    Stowaway

  • Night After Night

    Night After Night

  • Something Always Happens

    Something Always Happens

  • Poor Relations

    Poor Relations

  • Dancing Co-Ed

    Dancing Co-Ed

  • Onionhead

    Onionhead

  • Lawyer Man

    Lawyer Man

  • Moran of the Marines

    Moran of the Marines

  • They Drive by Night

    They Drive by Night

  • The Family Honor

    The Family Honor

  • One Way to Love

    One Way to Love

  • That's Right – You're Wrong

    That's Right – You're Wrong

  • Stage Door Canteen

    Stage Door Canteen

  • Night of Mystery

    Night of Mystery

  • Woman Trap

    Woman Trap

  • Pleasure

    Pleasure

  • You Can't Escape Forever

    You Can't Escape Forever

  • Two Against the World

    Two Against the World

  • Black Eyes and Blues

    Black Eyes and Blues

  • Play Girl

    Play Girl

  • You'd Be Surprised

    You'd Be Surprised

  • Gambling Ship

    Gambling Ship

  • The Women in His Life

    The Women in His Life

  • Front Page Woman

    Front Page Woman

  • Other Men's Daughters

    Other Men's Daughters

  • Inside Detective

    Inside Detective

  • Tip-Off Girls

    Tip-Off Girls

  • The Gay Vagabond

    The Gay Vagabond

  • Yokel Boy

    Yokel Boy

  • Meet the Missus

    Meet the Missus

  • Vigilantes of Boomtown

    Vigilantes of Boomtown

  • A Lady's Profession

    A Lady's Profession

  • Mr. Carlson of Arizona

    Mr. Carlson of Arizona

  • The Shopworn Angel

    The Shopworn Angel

  • Her Own Money

    Her Own Money

  • Twentieth Century

    Twentieth Century

  • Win That Girl

    Win That Girl

  • Red Hot Tires

    Red Hot Tires

  • Warming Up

    Warming Up

  • Grand Slam

    Grand Slam

  • The Navy Way

    The Navy Way

  • Footsteps in the Dark

    Footsteps in the Dark

  • The Midnight Express

    The Midnight Express

  • Petticoat Politics

    Petticoat Politics

  • Clarence

    Clarence

  • Old Acquaintance

    Old Acquaintance

  • Ladies Must Live

    Ladies Must Live

  • A Western Governor's Humanity

    A Western Governor's Humanity

  • A Species of Mexican Man

    A Species of Mexican Man

  • Little Accident

    Little Accident

  • Copy

    Copy

  • I Sell Anything

    I Sell Anything

  • Troopers Three

    Troopers Three

  • The Life of the Party

    The Life of the Party

  • Partners in Crime

    Partners in Crime

  • The Vanishing Pioneer

    The Vanishing Pioneer

  • Half Shot at Sunrise

    Half Shot at Sunrise