From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne Swenson was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Swedish parentage. Planning to be a doctor, he enrolled at Marietta College and undertook pre-medical studies but left that field to pursue acting. Swenson appeared extensively on the radio from the 1930s through the 1950s. Swenson entered the film industry in 1943 with two wartime documentary shorts, December 7 and The Sikorsky Helicopter, followed by more than thirty-five roles in feature films and television movies. No Name on the Bullet (1959) is only one of the many westerns in which he performed for both film and television. Swenson is remembered for his role as the doomsayer in the diner in Alfred Hitchcock's classic The Birds (1963) and had roles in The Prize (1963), Major Dundee (1965), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and Seconds (1966). In 1967, Swenson appeared in the western Hour of the Gun, and played the role of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in the western film Brighty of the Grand Canyon, with co-stars Pat Conway and Joseph Cotten. His later film appearances included roles in ...tick...tick...tick... (1970), The Wild Country (1970), Vanishing Point (1971) and Ulzana's Raid (1972). Swenson was married to actress Joan Tompkins. Swenson 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. Swenson was interred at Center Cemetery in New Milford, Connecticut. CLR
Movie | Disney Sing-Along Songs: Colors of the Wind | (voice) (archive footage) | 1995-07-21 |
Movie | Disney's Halloween Treat | Merlin (voice) (archive footage) | 1982-10-30 |
Series | The Amazing Spider-Man | Unknown | 1978-04-05 |
Movie | The Gun and the Pulpit | Adams | 1974-04-03 |
Series | Happy Days | Unknown | 1974-01-15 |
Series | Little House on the Prairie | Mr. Hanson | 1974-09-11 |
Series | Doc Elliot | Unknown | 1973-10-10 |
Series | Emergency! | Gus | 1972-01-22 |
Movie | The New Healers | Mr. Fisherman | 1972-03-27 |
Series | Ghost Story | Ed Barnes | 1972-09-15 |
Movie | Ulzana's Raid | Rukeyser | 1972-10-27 |
Movie | Vanishing Point | Clerk | 1971-01-15 |
Movie | A Howling in the Woods | Apperson | 1971-11-05 |
Series | Cannon | Unknown | 1971-09-14 |
Series | The Young Rebels | Unknown | 1970-09-20 |
Series | The Immortal | Unknown | 1970-09-24 |
Movie | Tick... Tick... Tick... | Frank Braddock Sr. | 1970-01-09 |
Series | The Odd Couple | Captain Potter | 1970-09-24 |
Movie | The Wild Country | Jensen | 1970-12-16 |
Series | Hawaii Five-O | Abel Morgan | 1968-09-20 |
Series | The Outcasts | Unknown | 1968-09-23 |
Series | The Mod Squad | Unknown | 1968-09-24 |
Series | Cimarron Strip | Unknown | 1967-09-07 |
Series | Judd for the Defense | Unknown | 1967-09-08 |
Series | Ironside | Vet | 1967-03-28 |
Series | The Guns of Will Sonnett | Unknown | 1967-09-08 |
Movie | Hour of the Gun | Dr. Charles Goodfellow | 1967-11-01 |
Movie | Seconds | Dr. Morris | 1966-10-05 |
Series | Tarzan | Unknown | 1966-09-08 |
Series | The Rat Patrol | Colonel Seidner | 1966-09-12 |
Movie | Brighty of the Grand Canyon | Theodore Roosevelt | 1966-11-24 |
Series | CBS Playhouse | Unknown | 1966-12-08 |
Movie | The Sons of Katie Elder | Doc Isdell | 1965-06-23 |
Movie | Major Dundee | Captain Waller | 1965-04-07 |
Series | Hogan's Heroes | Unknown | 1965-09-17 |
Movie | The Cincinnati Kid | Mr. Rudd | 1965-10-15 |
Series | The Big Valley | Steve Minter | 1965-09-15 |
Series | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | Unknown | 1964-09-25 |
Series | Profiles in Courage | Chynoweth | 1964-11-08 |
Series | The Greatest Show on Earth | Unknown | 1963-09-17 |
Series | The Lieutenant | Unknown | 1963-09-14 |
Movie | The Birds | Drunken Doomsayer in Diner | 1963-03-28 |
Series | The Dakotas | Unknown | 1963-01-07 |
Series | The Bill Dana Show | Unknown | 1963-09-22 |
Series | The Fugitive | Axel Nielsen - Service station owner | 1963-09-17 |
Movie | The Sword in the Stone | Merlin (voice) | 1963-12-25 |
Series | Mr. Novak | Mr. Haskell | 1963-09-24 |
Movie | The Prize | Hilding | 1963-12-25 |
Movie | The Man from Galveston | Sheriff | 1963-12-18 |
Series | The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters | Coley Bishop | 1963-09-29 |
Movie | The Spiral Road | Insp. Bevers | 1962-08-03 |
Movie | Walk on the Wild Side | Schmidt | 1962-03-20 |
Series | Sam Benedict | Unknown | 1962-09-15 |
Movie | Lonely Are the Brave | Rev. Hoskins | 1962-05-24 |
Series | The Virginian | Ben Wallace | 1962-09-19 |
Movie | How the West Was Won | Train Conductor (uncredited) | 1962-11-02 |
Series | General Electric True | Unknown | 1962-09-30 |
Series | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | George Sherston | 1962-09-20 |
Series | Dr. Kildare | Judge | 1961-09-27 |
Series | Ben Casey | Unknown | 1961-10-02 |
Movie | Judgment at Nuremberg | Heinrich Geuter | 1961-12-18 |
Series | Outlaws | Unknown | 1960-09-26 |
Movie | One Foot in Hell | Sheriff Ole Olson | 1960-09-11 |
Movie | Ice Palace | Scotty Ballantyne | 1960-01-02 |
Series | The Westerner | Ben Potts | 1960-09-30 |
Movie | The Gallant Hours | Bill Bailey | 1960-06-13 |
Series | Hong Kong | John Olwine | 1960-03-01 |
Series | The Andy Griffith Show | Unknown | 1960-10-03 |
Movie | Flaming Star | Dred Pierce | 1960-12-20 |
Movie | North to Alaska | Lars Nordqvist | 1960-11-07 |
Series | Klondike | Unknown | 1960-10-10 |
Series | Surfside 6 | Unknown | 1960-10-06 |
Movie | No Name on the Bullet | Stricker | 1959-02-01 |
Movie | The Hanging Tree | Tom Flaunce | 1959-02-19 |
Series | Black Saddle | Dr. Wyle | 1959-01-10 |
Series | Tightrope | Unknown | 1959-09-08 |
Series | Rawhide | Unknown | 1959-01-09 |
Series | Lock Up | Unknown | 1959-09-28 |
Series | Riverboat | Ansel Torgin | 1959-09-13 |
Series | Hawaiian Eye | Unknown | 1959-10-07 |
Series | Mr. Lucky | Unknown | 1959-10-24 |
Series | The Rebel | Lew Bussey | 1959-10-04 |
Series | Johnny Ringo | Kramer | 1959-10-02 |
Series | The Texan | Unknown | 1958-09-29 |
Series | Bronco | Unknown | 1958-09-23 |
Series | The Rifleman | Unknown | 1958-09-30 |
Movie | Kings Go Forth | The Colonel | 1958-06-28 |
Movie | Gateways to the Mind | Hal - the Cameraman (uncredited) | 1958-10-23 |
Series | 77 Sunset Strip | Unknown | 1958-10-10 |
Series | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | Unknown | 1958-10-06 |
Series | Bat Masterson | Jim Pate | 1958-10-08 |
Series | Sugarfoot | Dennis O'Hara | 1957-09-17 |
Series | Have Gun, Will Travel | Unknown | 1957-09-14 |
Movie | Four Boys and a Gun | Mr. Badek | 1957-01-11 |
Series | Perry Mason | Unk Hazekian | 1957-09-21 |
Series | The Walter Winchell File | Unknown | 1957-10-02 |
Series | Leave It to Beaver | George Haskell | 1957-10-04 |
Series | Trackdown | Unknown | 1957-10-04 |
Series | The Court of Last Resort | Unknown | 1957-10-04 |
Series | Maverick | Sheriff Griffin | 1957-09-22 |
Series | The Adventures of Jim Bowie | Andre Rochambeau | 1956-09-07 |
Series | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | Will Harmon | 1956-10-05 |
Series | Gunsmoke | Mr. Hubert | 1955-09-10 |
Series | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | John | 1955-10-02 |
Series | Playwrights '56 | Unknown | 1955-10-04 |
Movie | Alice in Wonderland | Humpty Dumpty | 1955-10-22 |
Series | Portia Faces Life | 1954-04-05 | |
Series | Lassie | Unknown | 1954-09-12 |
Series | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Asmussen | 1951-10-05 |
Series | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Humpty Dumpty | 1951-12-24 |
Series | Robert Montgomery Presents | Unknown | 1950-01-30 |
Movie | December 7th | Machine-Gunner (uncredited) | 1943-03-01 |
Movie | Strangers All | Protester at Communist Meeting | 1935-04-01 |