Karl Swenson
Acting
- Born:
- 1908-07-23
- Died:
- 1978-10-08
- Place of birth:
- Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Biography
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.
Known For
Filmography
Disney Sing-Along Songs: Colors of the Wind
Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Under the Sea
Disney's Halloween Treat
The Amazing Spider-Man
Disney's Greatest Villains
Little House on the Prairie
The Gun and the Pulpit
Happy Days
Doc Elliot
Ulzana's Raid
Ghost Story
The New Healers
Emergency!
A Howling in the Woods
Cannon
Vanishing Point
The Wild Country
The Odd Couple
The Immortal
The Young Rebels
… tick… tick… tick…
Hawaii Five-O
The Mod Squad
The Outcasts
Hour of the Gun
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Judd, for the Defense
The Guns of Will Sonnett
Cimarron Strip
Ironside
CBS Playhouse
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
Seconds
Mission: Impossible
The Rat Patrol
Tarzan
The Cincinnati Kid
Hogan's Heroes
The Big Valley
The Sons of Katie Elder
Major Dundee
Profiles in Courage
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
The Prize
The Sword in the Stone
The Man from Galveston
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Mr. Novak
The Bill Dana Show
The Fugitive
The Greatest Show on Earth
The Lieutenant
The Birds
The Dakotas
How the West Was Won
General Electric True
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
The Virginian
Sam Benedict
The Spiral Road
Lonely are the Brave
Walk on the Wild Side
Judgment at Nuremberg
Ben Casey
Dr. Kildare
Flaming Star
North to Alaska
Klondike
Surfside 6
The Andy Griffith Show
The Westerner
Outlaws
One Foot in Hell
The Gallant Hours
Hong Kong
Ice Palace
Mr. Lucky
Hawaiian Eye
The Rebel
Johnny Ringo
Lock-Up
Riverboat
Bonanza
Tightrope
The Hanging Tree
No Name on the Bullet
Black Saddle
Rawhide
Gateways to the Mind
77 Sunset Strip
Bat Masterson
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
The Rifleman
The Texan
Bronco
Kings Go Forth
Trackdown
Leave It to Beaver
The Court of Last Resort
The Walter Winchell File
Maverick
Perry Mason
Sugarfoot
Have Gun, Will Travel
Four Boys and a Gun
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Alice in Wonderland
Playwrights '56
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Gunsmoke
The Wonderful World of Disney
Lassie
Portia Faces Life
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Robert Montgomery Presents
December 7th
Strangers All