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Karl Swenson

Karl Swenson

Acting

July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978 (died at 70)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Male
41 Movies
109 TV Shows

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.

The Sword in the Stone
The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone

1963 7.2

as Merlin (voice)

Age 55 (now 70)
Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie

1974 7.9

as Lars Hanson

Age 66 (now 70)
40 eps
The Birds
The Birds

The Birds

1963 7.5

as Le prophète de malheur ivre au bar

Age 54 (now 70)
Seconds
Seconds

Seconds

1966 7.3

as Dr. Morris

Age 58 (now 70)
The Hanging Tree
The Hanging Tree

The Hanging Tree

1959 6.7

as Tom Flaunce

Age 50 (now 70)
Ulzana's Raid
Ulzana's Raid

Ulzana's Raid

1972 6.9

as Rukeyser

Age 64 (now 70)
Lonely are the Brave
Lonely are the Brave

Lonely are the Brave

1962 7.4

as Rev. Hoskins

Age 53 (now 70)
North to Alaska
North to Alaska

North to Alaska

1960 6.5

as Lars Nordqvist

Age 52 (now 70)
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg

Judgment at Nuremberg

1961 8.0

as Heinrich Geuter

Age 53 (now 70)
Flaming Star
Flaming Star

Flaming Star

1960 6.5

as Dred Pierce

Age 52 (now 70)
Vanishing Point
Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point

1971 7.1

as Clerk

Age 62 (now 70)
The Cincinnati Kid
The Cincinnati Kid

The Cincinnati Kid

1965 7.0

as Mr. Rudd

Age 57 (now 70)
Walk on the Wild Side
Walk on the Wild Side

Walk on the Wild Side

1962 6.6

as Schmidt

Age 53 (now 70)
No Name on the Bullet
No Name on the Bullet

No Name on the Bullet

1959 6.6

as Stricker

Age 50 (now 70)
Major Dundee
Major Dundee

Major Dundee

1965 6.7

as Captain Waller

Age 56 (now 70)
Hour of the Gun
Hour of the Gun

Hour of the Gun

1967 6.5

as Dr. Charles Goodfellow

Age 59 (now 70)