Robert Anthony Karnes (June 19, 1917 – December 4, 1979) was an American film, stage and television actor.

Life and career

Karnes was born in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, where he had interest into acting and going to

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

, when World War II ended. He began his film and television career in 1946, as appearing in the film '' The Bamboo Blonde'', where he played the uncredited role of a Nightclub Patron. Karnes also began his stage career, where he appeared in the play ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. Later in his career, Karnes appeared in numerous television programs including ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'', ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'', ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

'', ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

'', ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. T ...

'', ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...

'', ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'', ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situatio ...

'', ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'', ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

'', '' The Fugitive'', ''

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...

'', '' Mission: Impossible'' and '' Ironside'', among others. He also starred, co-starred and appeared in films such as ''

Miracle on 34th Street ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (initially released as ''The Big Heart'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1947 American List of Christmas films, Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on ...

'', '' Trapped'', ''

Gentleman's Agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...

'', ''

Three Husbands ''Three Husbands'' is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Irving Reis and starring Eve Arden, Ruth Warrick, and Emlyn Williams. Plot When a recently deceased playboy, Max, gets to heaven, he is granted a wish. His request: to watch his ...

'', ''

According to Mrs. Hoyle ''According to Mrs. Hoyle'' is a 1951 American crime film directed by Jean Yarbrough and written by Scott Darling and Barney Gerard. The film stars Spring Byington, Anthony Caruso, Tanis Chandler, Brett King, Stephen Chase and Robert Karnes. T ...

'', ''

Half Human is a 1955 Japanese science fiction horror film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akemi Negishi, Sachio Sakai, and Nobuo Nakamura, with Sanshiro Sagara as the Abomina ...

'', ''

Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! ''Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by F. Hugh Herbert, based on the novel of the same name by George Agnew Chamberlain. Released by 20th Century Fox, the film stars June Haver, Lon McC ...

'', '' Road House'', '' When My Baby Smiles at Me'', ''

Hills of Oklahoma ''Hills of Oklahoma'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by R. G. Springsteen and written by Olive Cooper and Victor Arthur. The film stars Rex Allen, Elisabeth Fraser, Elisabeth Risdon, Robert Karnes, Fuzzy Knight and Roscoe Ates. T ...

'', ''

Stagecoach to Fury ''Stagecoach to Fury'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by William F. Claxton and starring Forrest Tucker and Mari Blanchard. It was the first film from Robert L. Lippert's Regal films; the B picture unit of 20th Century Fox set up to ...

'', ''

Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison ''Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison'' is a 1951 American film noir crime film directed by Crane Wilbur and starring Steve Cochran and David Brian. Set in Folsom State Prison in California, the film was seen both in the United States and Europe. ...

'', ''

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. Arm ...

'' and '' Fear No More''. In 1959, Karnes played the role of Max Fields in the

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series ''

The Lawless Years ''The Lawless Years'' is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16, 1959, to September 22, 1961. The series is the first of its kind, set during the Roaring 20s, having antedated American Broadcasting Company, ABC's far more ...

'', in which he co-starred with James Gregory. In his stage career, Karnes played a lead role in the play ''John Loves Mary'' in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. He later left the cast, in which Karnes played the uncredited role of "Sgt. Turp Thornhill" in the 1953 film ''

''. His final credit was from the television film ''Bogie''.

Death

Karnes died in December 1979 of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

at his home in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

, at the age of 62.

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karnes, Robert 1917 births 1979 deaths People from Kentucky Male actors from Kentucky American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Western (genre) television actors Male Western (genre) film actors