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.
122 movies · 26 shows
The World of Tomorrow
1984·5.5
Gypsy
1962·6.3
Summer and Smoke
1961·6.6
Wild in the Country
1961·6.3
Yellowstone Kelly
1959·6.2
The Buccaneer
1958·6.5
Man or Gun
1958·4.0
Touch of Evil
1958·7.7
The Lonely Man
1957·6.1
Hell's Crossroads
1957·5.6
Duel at Apache Wells
1957·6.0
The Peacemaker
1956·5.3
Written on the Wind
1956·7.0
Come Next Spring
1956·5.9
At Gunpoint
1955·6.7
The Marauders
1955·5.8
The Tall Men
1955·6.5
The Violent Men
1955·6.5
Executive Suite
1954·7.1
Witness to Murder
1954·6.3
Rails Into Laramie
1954·6.5
Phantom Stallion
1954·9.0
Jack Slade
1953·7.0
Roar of the Crowd
1953·8.0
Cry of the Hunted
1953·6.1
Kansas Pacific
1953·5.0
Lure of the Wilderness
1952·6.0
Flesh and Fury
1952·6.6
High Noon
1952·7.7
The Scarf
1951·5.7
The Lemon Drop Kid
1951·6.5
Blue Blood
1951·10.0
Pride of Maryland
1951·9.0
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
1951·5.8
Hunt the Man Down
1950·6.3
The Flying Missile
1950·5.3
The Sound of Fury
1950·6.5
Where Danger Lives
1950·6.4
The Killer That Stalked New York
1950·6.2
The Underworld Story
1950·6.3
Three Little Words
1950·6.3
The Gunfighter
1950·7.4
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
1950·6.4
Cow Town
1950·5.5
The Jackie Robinson Story
1950·6.3
Singing Guns
1950·6.4
Tarnished
1950·7.2
Mary Ryan, Detective
1949·5.3
Mr. Soft Touch
1949·6.8
Tulsa
1949·6.4
Champion
1949·6.7
Rustlers
1949·6.3
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
1948·7.3
Big Town Scandal
1948·5.3
Fighting Father Dunne
1948·7.5
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
1948·7.0
My Girl Tisa
1948·9.0
The Lady from Shanghai
1947·7.3
Dangerous Years
1947·6.2
The Invisible Wall
1947·6.0
Exposed
1947·6.2
Time Out of Mind
1947·5.6
The Farmer's Daughter
1947·7.1
Nora Prentiss
1947·6.2
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
1947·6.6
The Red House
1947·6.3
San Quentin
1946·6.3
Crack-Up
1946·5.8
The Last Crooked Mile
1946·5.5
Canyon Passage
1946·6.7
Night Editor
1946·5.5
I Ring Doorbells
1946·7.0
Pride of the Marines
1945·6.8
Captain Eddie
1945·7.2
Crime, Inc.
1945·4.8
When the Lights Go On Again
1944·6.0
The Mummy's Ghost
1944·5.6
The Yellow Rose of Texas
1944·6.1
True to Life
1943·8.0
In Old Oklahoma
1943·6.2
Headin' for God's Country
1943·8.0
Someone to Remember
1943·7.7
Alaska Highway
1943·6.3
Song of Texas
1943·6.3
Idaho
1943·6.3
The Powers Girl
1943·7.0
Once Upon a Honeymoon
1942·6.3
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1942·8.0
The Big Street
1942·5.8
In Old California
1942·5.3
The Falcon Takes Over
1942·6.3
The Mad Martindales
1942·7.5
This Gun for Hire
1942·7.0
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
1942·6.4
The Lady Is Willing
1942·6.5
Hold Back the Dawn
1941·6.7
Citizen Kane
1941·8.0
The Saint In Palm Springs
1941·6.1
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
1940·6.0
Too Many Girls
1940·5.9
One Crowded Night
1940·5.5
The Girl from Avenue A
1940·7.5
Sailor's Lady
1940·6.5
Gambling on the High Seas
1940·5.7
Tear Gas Squad
1940·5.3
Young Tom Edison
1940·5.9
Parole Fixer
1940·5.0
City of Chance
1940·5.6
The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair
1939·6.6
Alibi Mark
1937·7.0
Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
1936·6.5
A Peach of a Pair
1934·8.0
Smoked Hams
1934·7.0
No More West
1934·10.0
Take a Chance
1933·5.5
Close Relations
1933·7.0
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
1933·7.0
Wrongorilla
1933·9.0
The Campus Mystery
1932·7.0
Heads Up
1930·7.0
Faint Heart
1929·10.0
Sympathy
1929·4.0