Cast & creator
Harry Shannon
Best known for Have Gun, Will Travel, Lassie, The Virginian
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
film credits
31
television credits
153
1929–1984 · acting roles
6.5
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (153)
Showing 153 of 153 credits
Have Gun, Will Travel
Jesse
1957
Lassie
1954
The Virginian
Uncle Josh
1962
The Untouchables
Michael Shaw
1959
Cheyenne
1955
Rawhide
Claggert
1959Rawhide
Kilo
1959Rawhide
Sheriff Blanton
1959Rawhide
Jeffries
1959
Gunsmoke
Bowers
1955
Bat Masterson
Jobe Crail
1958
The Real McCoys
1957
The Ford Television Theatre
Judge Varney
1952
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Dr. Harner
1955
The Texan
Jayson Howell
1958State Trooper
1956
Sugarfoot
Henry Shipman
1957
The Millionaire
Judge William Jennings Westholme
1955
Navy Log
1955
Lock-Up
1959
Citizen Kane
Jim Kane
1941
Cavalcade of America
1952Cavalcade of America
Samuel Morse
1952
The Thin Man
1957
The Dakotas
1963
The Man Behind the Badge
1953
High Noon
Cooper
1952
Crossroads
Detective Sergeant Dave Washburn
1955
Letter to Loretta
Tom
1953
Wire Service
Harris Ellerby
1956
26 Men
1957
Touch of Evil
Chief Gould
1958
Angel
1960
Written on the Wind
Hoak Wayne
1956
The Lady from Shanghai
Cab Driver
1947
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Big Jim Heywood
1951
This Gun for Hire
Steve Finnerty
1942
The Tall Men
Sam
1955
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Tesander
1948
Gypsy
Grandpa
1962
The Buccaneer
Tom Carruthers - Captain of the Corinthian
1958
In Old Oklahoma
Charlie Witherspoon
1943
The Gunfighter
Chuck (uncredited)
1950
Wild in the Country
Sam Tyler (uncredited)
1961
Executive Suite
Ed Benedeck
1954
The Farmer's Daughter
Mr. Holstrom
1947
Hold Back the Dawn
American Immigration Official (uncredited)
1941
Once Upon a Honeymoon
Ed Cumberland
1942
The Lemon Drop Kid
John (Policeman)
1951
Champion
Lew
1949
Pride of the Marines
Uncle Ralph
1945
The Sound of Fury
Mr. Yaeger
1950
Yellowstone Kelly
Captain of the Far West (uncredited)
1959
Canyon Passage
Henry McLane (uncredited)
1946
The Lady Is Willing
Barnes
1942
The Killer That Stalked New York
Police Officer Houlihan
1950
The Big Street
Florida Doctor (uncredited)
1942
The Red House
Dr. Jonathan Byrne
1947
In Old California
Mr. Carlin
1942
The Mummy's Ghost
Sheriff Elwood
1944
Young Tom Edison
Army Captain Brackett
1940
Three Little Words
Clanahan
1950
The Violent Men
Purdue
1955
Where Danger Lives
Dr. Maynard
1950
Al Jennings of Oklahoma
Fred Salter
1951
Tarnished
Kelsey Bunker
1950
Nora Prentiss
Police Lieutenant
1947
Exposed
Severance
1947
Cry of the Hunted
Sheriff Brown
1953
Hunt the Man Down
Wallace Bennett
1950
The Jackie Robinson Story
Charlie
1950
Faint Heart
Dynamite Dan
1929
The Falcon Takes Over
Detective Grimes (Uncredited)
1942
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
Chauncey
1948
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
Detective Owens, San Diego Police
1947
The Lonely Man
Dr. Fisher
1957
Time Out of Mind
Capt. Rogers
1947
Mr. Soft Touch
Police Sergeant Garrett
1949
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
Clay
1950
Witness to Murder
Captain Donnelly
1954
Duel at Apache Wells
Wayne Shattuck
1957
Rails Into Laramie
Judge Pierce
1954
Summer and Smoke
Dr. Burke (uncredited)
1961
The Saint In Palm Springs
Chief R.L. Graves
1941
Lure of the Wilderness
Pat McGowan
1952
The Yellow Rose of Texas
Sam Weston
1944
Gambling on the High Seas
Ed, Chief of Police
1940
Tulsa
Nelse Lansing
1949
Mary Ryan, Detective
Sawyer
1949
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
Capt. Mahoney
1940
Kansas Pacific
Smokestack the Train Engineer
1953
The Flying Missile
Vice Admiral Williams
1950
At Gunpoint
Marshal Pete MacKay
1955
My Girl Tisa
1948
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine
Pinky Dolan
1942
True to Life
Mr. Mason
1943
The Underworld Story
George Parker
1950
Crack-Up
Cop (Uncredited)
1946
The Powers Girl
Mr. Hendricks
1943
Flesh and Fury
Mike Callan
1952
Too Many Girls
Mr. Casey
1940
Tear Gas Squad
Lieutenant Sullivan
1940
Sympathy
Larry
1929
San Quentin
Warden Kelly
1946
The Last Crooked Mile
Police Lieutenant Blake
1946
The Marauders
John Rutherford
1955
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Mr. Tim Wiggs
1942
Come Next Spring
Mr. Totter
1956
The Girl from Avenue A
Timson
1940
When the Lights Go On Again
Tom Cary
1944
Roar of the Crowd
Sam 'Pop' Tracy
1953
Singing Guns
Judge Waller
1950
Night Editor
Capt. Lawrence
1946
The World of Tomorrow
Pop Middleton (archive footage)
1984
Dangerous Years
Judge Raymond
1947
The Scarf
Asylum Warden Anderson
1951
Hell's Crossroads
Clay Ford
1957
Headin' for God's Country
Albert Ness
1943
A Peach of a Pair
1934Wrongorilla
Grogan
1933
The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair
Father
1939
Crime, Inc.
Police Commissioner Collins
1945
Alibi Mark
Railroad Detective
1937
Man or Gun
Justin Corley
1958
The Invisible Wall
Det. Capt. R.W. Davis
1947
No More West
Bank Robber
1934
Idaho
Judge John Grey
1943
Jack Slade
Tom Carter
1953
City of Chance
Passline
1940
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang
1933
Captain Eddie
Simmons
1945
Sailor's Lady
Father McGann
1940
Song of Texas
Sam Bennett
1943
The Peacemaker
Drunken Cowpuncher
1956
Alaska Highway
John 'Pop' Ormsby
1943
Parole Fixer
Randall
1940
The Mad Martindales
Policeman
1942
Fighting Father Dunne
Thomas Lee
1948
Blue Blood
Mr. Buchanan
1951
Big Town Scandal
Police Captain Henry (uncredited)
1948
Someone to Remember
Tom Gibbons
1943
Pride of Maryland
Walter Shannon
1951Take a Chance
Bartender
1933
Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
Macbeth
1936
Rustlers
Sheriff Harmon
1949The Campus Mystery
Police Sergeant
1932
Smoked Hams
The Landlord
1934
Phantom Stallion
Michael Reilly
1954
One Crowded Night
McDermott
1940
Heads Up
Capt. Denny
1930
I Ring Doorbells
Shannon
1946
Cow Town
Sandy Reeves
1950
Close Relations
Harry Wart
1933