Harry Shannon

Harry Shannon (June 13, 1890 – July 27, 1964) was an American actor born on a farm in Saginaw, Michigan. He built his early career in live theater and vaudeville before transitioning to the film industry in the 1930s, ultimately becoming a recognizable presence in Hollywood Westerns.

Shannon's Broadway career spanned from 1926 to 1939 and encompassed both musicals and dramatic productions. His stage credits included Oh, Kay! (1926), the musical Hold Everything (1928), Jonica (1930), the musicals Simple Simon and Free For All (both 1931), Under Glass (1933), Pardon My English (1933), Washington Jitters (1938), and Mrs. O'Brien Entertains (1939).

His most celebrated film role came early in his screen career, when he was cast as Charles Foster Kane's father in Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941). His subsequent film appearances included Someone to Remember (1943), Alaska Highway (1943), San Quentin (1946), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), and Witness to Murder (1954). Western films came to dominate the final decade of his career.

Shannon was equally active in television Westerns during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He appeared in episodes of Cheyenne, Colt .45, Bat Masterson, Sheriff of Cochise, Have Gun – Will Travel, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Texan, and Laramie, taking on roles that included Matt Crowley, outlaw Clay Hooper, and the villain Dad "Jobe Craig." Shannon died in Hollywood on July 27, 1964, at the age of 74.