About
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...
Known for
The Lucy ShowSeries • 1962
December BrideSeries • 1954
Richard Diamond, Private DetectiveSeries • 1957
HenneseySeries • 1959
His Girl FridayMovie • 1940
It Happened One NightMovie • 1934
WingsMovie • 1927
The Jazz SingerMovie • 1927
Woman of the YearMovie • 1942
They Drive by NightMovie • 1940
Man's Favorite Sport?Movie • 1964
Alice in WonderlandMovie • 1933
The Ten CommandmentsMovie • 1923
Twentieth CenturyMovie • 1934
You and MeMovie • 1938
One Way PassageMovie • 1932
If I Had a MillionMovie • 1932
Stage Door CanteenMovie • 1943
The Woman in RedMovie • 1935
Night After NightMovie • 1932
Old AcquaintanceMovie • 1943
Beggars of LifeMovie • 1928
Today We LiveMovie • 1933