Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Swenson is remembered for his role as the doomsayer in the diner in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) and as the voice of Merlin in Disney's The Sword in the Stone (1963). On television, he had numerous credits in guest roles on various shows, especially Westerns, including episodes of Bonanza, The Virginian, and Gunsmoke. He had a major recurring role as Walnut Grove founder Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie (1974 - 1978).
Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Swenson is remembered for his role as the doomsayer in the diner in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) and as the voice of Merlin in Disney's The Sword in the Stone (1963). On television, he had numerous credits in guest roles on various shows, especially Westerns, including episodes of Bonanza, The Virginian, and Gunsmoke. He had a major recurring role as Walnut Grove founder Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie (1974 - 1978).
Swenson also had roles in The Prize (1963), Major Dundee (1965), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Seconds (1966), Hour of the Gun (1967), ...tick...tick...tick... (1970), The Wild Country (1970), Vanishing Point (1971) and Ulzana's Raid (1972).
Born in Brooklyn, New York of Swedish parentage, he originally planned to be a doctor and studied at Marietta College before pursuing acting. Swenson appeared extensively on the radio from the 1930s through the 1950s. He entered the film industry in 1943 with two wartime documentary shorts, December 7 and The Sikorsky Helicopter. Swenson was married to actress Joan Tompkins. He died of a heart attack at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Connecticut on October 8, 1978, shortly after filming the Little House on the Prairie episode in which his character dies. The episode aired on October 16, 1978, eight days after Swenson's death. He was interred at Center Cemetery in New Milford, Connecticut.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0842425
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q690569
Facebook: No data
Instagram: No data
X: No data
Filmography (Movies)
Disney Sing-Along Songs: Colors of the Wind
Character:(voice) (archive footage)
Release Date:21/07/1995
Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Under the Sea
Character:Merlin (archive footage) (voice)
Release Date:14/08/1990
Disney's Halloween Treat
Character:Merlin (voice) (archive footage)
Release Date:30/10/1982
Disney's Greatest Villains
Character:Merlin (voice) (archive footage)
Release Date:15/05/1977
The Gun and the Pulpit
Character:Adams
Release Date:03/04/1974
Ulzana's Raid
Character:Rukeyser
Release Date:27/10/1972
The New Healers
Character:Mr. Fisherman
Release Date:27/03/1972
A Howling in the Woods
Character:Apperson
Release Date:05/11/1971
Vanishing Point
Character:Clerk
Release Date:15/01/1971
The Wild Country
Character:Jensen
Release Date:16/12/1970
… tick… tick… tick…
Character:Frank Braddock Sr.
Release Date:09/01/1970
Hour of the Gun
Character:Dr. Charles Goodfellow
Release Date:01/11/1967
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Character:Dr. Keller
Release Date:17/10/1967
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
Character:Theodore Roosevelt
Release Date:24/11/1966
Seconds
Character:Dr. Morris
Release Date:05/10/1966
The Cincinnati Kid
Character:Mr. Rudd
Release Date:15/10/1965
The Sons of Katie Elder
Character:Doc Isdell
Release Date:23/06/1965
Major Dundee
Character:Captain Waller
Release Date:15/03/1965
The Prize
Character:Hilding
Release Date:25/12/1963
The Sword in the Stone
Character:Merlin (voice)
Release Date:25/12/1963
The Man from Galveston
Character:Sheriff
Release Date:18/12/1963
The Birds
Character:Drunken Doomsayer in Diner
Release Date:28/03/1963
How the West Was Won
Character:Train Conductor (uncredited)
Release Date:02/11/1962
The Spiral Road
Character:Insp. Bevers
Release Date:03/08/1962
Lonely are the Brave
Character:Rev. Hoskins
Release Date:24/05/1962
Walk on the Wild Side
Character:Schmidt
Release Date:21/02/1962
Judgment at Nuremberg
Character:Heinrich Geuter
Release Date:18/12/1961
Flaming Star
Character:Dred Pierce
Release Date:20/12/1960
North to Alaska
Character:Lars Nordqvist
Release Date:07/11/1960
One Foot in Hell
Character:Sheriff Ole Olson
Release Date:11/09/1960
The Gallant Hours
Character:Bill Bailey
Release Date:13/06/1960
Ice Palace
Character:Scotty Ballantyne
Release Date:02/01/1960
The Sunrise Gun
Character:Lud Greening
Release Date:16/04/1959
The Hanging Tree
Character:Tom Flaunce
Release Date:19/02/1959
No Name on the Bullet
Character:Stricker
Release Date:01/02/1959
Gateways to the Mind
Character:Hal - the Cameraman (uncredited)
Release Date:23/10/1958
Kings Go Forth
Character:The Colonel
Release Date:28/06/1958
Four Boys and a Gun
Character:Mr. Badek
Release Date:11/01/1957
Alice in Wonderland
Character:Humpty Dumpty
Release Date:23/10/1955
December 7th
Character:Machine-Gunner (uncredited)
Release Date:01/03/1943
Strangers All
Character:Protester at Communist Meeting
Release Date:01/04/1935
Television Appearances
The Amazing Spider-Man
Character:
Little House on the Prairie
Character:Lars Hanson
Happy Days
Character:
Doc Elliot
Character:
Ghost Story
Character:Ed Barnes
Emergency!
Character:Gus
Cannon
Character:
The Odd Couple
Character:Captain Potter
The Immortal
Character:
The Young Rebels
Character:
The Mod Squad
Character:
The Outcasts
Character:
Hawaii Five-O
Character:Abel Morgan
Judd for the Defense
Character:
The Guns of Will Sonnett
Character:
Cimarron Strip
Character:
Cimarron Strip
Character:Dr. Kihlgren
Ironside
Character:Vet
CBS Playhouse
Character:
Mission: Impossible
Character:Colonel Dubov
Mission: Impossible
Character:Dr. Ziegler
The Rat Patrol
Character:Colonel Seidner
Tarzan
Character:
Hogan's Heroes
Character:Dr. Karl Svenson
The Big Valley
Character:Bert Hadley
The Big Valley
Character:Aaron Moyers
The Big Valley
Character:Steve Minter
Profiles in Courage
Character:Chynoweth
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Character:Col. Harper
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Character:Coley Bishop
Mr. Novak
Character:Mr. Haskell
The Bill Dana Show
Character:
The Fugitive
Character:Axel Nielsen - Service station owner
The Greatest Show on Earth
Character:
The Fugitive
Character:Morgan
The Lieutenant
Character:
The Dakotas
Character:
General Electric True
Character:
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Character:George Sherston
The Virginian
Character:Col. Theodore Roosevelt
The Virginian
Character:Karl Swenson
The Virginian
Character:Ben Wallace
Sam Benedict
Character:
Sam Benedict
Character:Barney Rosvalley
Sam Benedict
Character:Barney Rossvalley
Ben Casey
Character:
Dr. Kildare
Character:Judge
Klondike
Character:Judge Frank Weinstock
Surfside 6
Character:
The Andy Griffith Show
Character:Mr. McBeevee
The Westerner
Character:Ben Potts
Outlaws
Character:
Hong Kong
Character:John Olwine
Mr. Lucky
Character:
Hawaiian Eye
Character:
The Rebel
Character:Lew Bussey
Johnny Ringo
Character:Kramer
Lock-Up
Character:
Riverboat
Character:Ansel Torgin
Bonanza
Character:Carl Harris
Tightrope
Character:
Black Saddle
Character:Dr. Wyle
Rawhide
Character:
77 Sunset Strip
Character:
Bat Masterson
Character:Jim Pate
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Character:
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Character:Van Kemp
The Rifleman
Character:Chris Manse
The Texan
Character:
Bronco
Character:
Trackdown
Character:
Leave It to Beaver
Character:George Haskell
The Court of Last Resort
Character:
The Walter Winchell File
Character:
Maverick
Character:
Maverick
Character:Captain Nares
Maverick
Character:Sheriff Griffin
Perry Mason
Character:Axel Norstaad
Perry Mason
Character:Corley Ketchum
Perry Mason
Character:Charles Norman
Perry Mason
Character:Unk Hazekian
Sugarfoot
Character:Andy Burke
Sugarfoot
Character:Alexi Sharlokov
Sugarfoot
Character:Dennis O'Hara
Sugarfoot
Character:Bill Manning
Have Gun, Will Travel
Character:
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character:Lee Willis
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character:Lud Greening
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character:Will Harmon
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Character:Andre Rochambeau
Playwrights '56
Character:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character:Ed Holland
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character:John
Gunsmoke
Character:Hank Luz
Gunsmoke
Character:Raff
Gunsmoke
Character:Hutch
Gunsmoke
Character:Adam
Gunsmoke
Character:Tabe
Gunsmoke
Character:Ian McGovern
Gunsmoke
Character:Lars Karlgren
Gunsmoke
Character:McGruder
Gunsmoke
Character:Mr. Hubert
The Wonderful World of Disney
Character:Laredo Marshal (uncredited)
Lassie
Character:
Portia Faces Life
Character:
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character:Humpty Dumpty
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character:Asmussen
Robert Montgomery Presents
Character:
Images
