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 wisecracking and often tipsy characters and his rapidfire 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 didnt really take off until sound arrived Arguably his bestknown film role was the annoying bus passenger Oscar Shapeley who tries to pick up Claudette Colbert in the Oscarwinning comedy It Happened One Night 1934 quickly followed by one of his best performances as the boozy press agent Owen OMalley in Howard Hawks Twentieth Century Six years later he costarred 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 comedymysteries 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 seventythree of the ninetyfive episodes of the CBS military sitcomdrama 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 Mans 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 CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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