
Roscoe Karns
Known for ActingBorn 1891-09-06Died 1970-02-06San Bernardino, California, USA
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 WikipediaRead more
Movies & web series
★ 10.0Find where to watch →
Half Shot at Sunrise
1941 · Movie
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Night of Mystery
1937 · Movie
Elmer and Elsie
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Elmer and Elsie
1934 · Movie
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Many a Slip
1931 · Movie
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Win That Girl
1928 · Movie
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Something Always Happens
1928 · Movie
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Ten Modern Commandments
1927 · Movie
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The Overland Limited
1925 · Movie
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Bluff
1924 · Movie
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The Foolish Virgin
1924 · Movie
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Her Own Money
1922 · Movie
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The Man Tamer
1921 · Movie
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Avalanche
1946 · Movie
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Petticoat Politics
1941 · Movie
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The Gay Vagabond
1941 · Movie
Black Eyes and Blues
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Black Eyes and Blues
1941 · Movie
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Clarence
1937 · Movie
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The Gorilla
1930 · Movie
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Little Accident
1930 · Movie
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This Thing Called Love
1929 · Movie
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The Shopworn Angel
1928 · Movie
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The Vanishing Pioneer
1928 · Movie
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Warming Up
1928 · Movie
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Beau Sabreur
1928 · Movie
From Champion to Tramp
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From Champion to Tramp
1915 · Movie
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Two-Fisted
1935 · Movie
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Scandal Street
1938 · Movie
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Partners in Crime
1937 · Movie
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Three Married Men
1936 · Movie
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Woman Trap
1936 · Movie
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The Costello Case
1930 · Movie
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Copy
1929 · Movie
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Jazz Mad
1928 · Movie
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Ritzy
1927 · Movie
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Hennesey
1959 · Series
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Other Men's Daughters
1923 · Movie
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The Trouper
1922 · Movie
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Conquering the Woman
1922 · Movie
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The Family Honor
1920 · Movie
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Poor Relations
1919 · Movie
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It Happened One Night
1934 · Movie
A Species of Mexican Man
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A Species of Mexican Man
1915 · Movie
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Tip-Off Girls
1938 · Movie
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His Girl Friday
1940 · Movie
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Man Trouble
1930 · Movie
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The Lucy Show
1962 · Series
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One Way Passage
1932 · Movie
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Man's Favorite Sport?
1964 · Movie