Harry Shannon

Known for ActingBorn 1890-06-12Died 1964-07-27Saginaw, Michigan, USA

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.Read more

Movies & web series

Blue Blood

No More West

Faint Heart

Wire Service

Phantom Stallion

Pride of Maryland

My Girl Tisa

Wrongorilla

Roar of the Crowd

The Untouchables

True to Life

Headin' for God's Country

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

Citizen Kane

Alibi Mark

A Peach of a Pair

Smoked Hams

Touch of Evil

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

The Ford Television Theatre

High Noon

The Thin Man

Someone to Remember

Fighting Father Dunne

The Mad Martindales

The Gunfighter

The Girl from Avenue A

Have Gun, Will Travel

The Lady from Shanghai

Rawhide

Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

Captain Eddie

Tarnished

Executive Suite

The Farmer's Daughter

Jack Slade

Written on the Wind

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

I Ring Doorbells

The Powers Girl

This Gun for Hire

20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang

Close Relations

Mr. Soft Touch

The Campus Mystery

Heads Up

At Gunpoint