progress_activityLoading...
Acting
Karl Swenson
Also known as: Peter Wayne
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.
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
July 23, 1908
Day of Death
October 8, 1978
Age at Death
70 years old
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Popularity Score
1.3
Filmography
Disney Sing-Along Songs: Colors of the Wind
(voice) (archive footage)
1995Movie
Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Under the Sea
Merlin (archive footage) (voice)
1990Movie
Disney's Halloween Treat
Merlin (voice) (archive footage)
1982Movie
The Amazing Spider-Man
1978TV
Disney's Greatest Villains
Merlin (voice) (archive footage)
1977Movie
The Gun and the Pulpit
Adams
1974Movie
Little House on the Prairie
Lars Hanson
1974TV
Happy Days
1974TV
Doc Elliot
1973TV
Ulzana's Raid
Rukeyser
1972Movie
The New Healers
Mr. Fisherman
1972Movie
Ghost Story
Ed Barnes
1972TV
Emergency!
Gus
1972TV
Vanishing Point
Clerk
1971Movie
A Howling in the Woods
Apperson
1971Movie
Cannon
1971TV
… tick… tick… tick…
Frank Braddock Sr.
1970Movie
The Wild Country
Jensen
1970Movie
The Odd Couple
Captain Potter
1970TV
The Immortal
1970TV
The Young Rebels
1970TV
Hawaii Five-O
Abel Morgan
1968TV
The Mod Squad
1968TV
The Outcasts
1968TV
Hour of the Gun
Dr. Charles Goodfellow
1967Movie
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Dr. Keller
1967Movie
Ironside
Vet
1967TV
Cimarron Strip
1967TV
Judd, for the Defense
1967TV
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967TV
Seconds
Dr. Morris
1966Movie
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
Theodore Roosevelt
1966Movie
Tarzan
1966TV
The Rat Patrol
Colonel Seidner
1966TV
Mission: Impossible
Colonel Dubov
1966TV
CBS Playhouse
Dr. Keller
1966TV
The Cincinnati Kid
Mr. Rudd
1965Movie
Major Dundee
Captain Waller
1965Movie
The Sons of Katie Elder
Doc Isdell
1965Movie
The Big Valley
Bert Hadley
1965TV
Hogan's Heroes
Dr. Karl Svenson
1965TV
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Col. Harper
1964TV
Profiles in Courage
Chynoweth
1964TV
The Birds
Le prophète de malheur ivre au bar
1963Movie
The Prize
Hilding
1963Movie
The Sword in the Stone
Merlin (voice)
1963Movie
The Man from Galveston
Sheriff
1963Movie
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Coley Bishop
1963TV
The Fugitive
Axel Nielsen - Service station owner
1963TV
The Dakotas
1963TV
Mr. Novak
Mr. Haskell
1963TV
The Bill Dana Show
1963TV
The Lieutenant
1963TV
The Greatest Show on Earth
Louis
1963TV
Lonely are the Brave
Rev. Hoskins
1962Movie
Walk on the Wild Side
Schmidt
1962Movie
How the West Was Won
Train Conductor (uncredited)
1962Movie
The Spiral Road
Insp. Bevers
1962Movie
Sam Benedict
1962TV
The Virginian
Col. Theodore Roosevelt
1962TV
General Electric True
1962TV
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
George Sherston
1962TV
Judgment at Nuremberg
Heinrich Geuter
1961Movie
Ben Casey
1961TV
Dr. Kildare
Judge
1961TV
North to Alaska
Lars Nordqvist
1960Movie
Ice Palace
Scotty Ballantyne
1960Movie
Flaming Star
Dred Pierce
1960Movie
The Gallant Hours
Bill Bailey
1960Movie
One Foot in Hell
Sheriff Ole Olson
1960Movie
The Andy Griffith Show
Mr. McBeevee
1960TV
Surfside 6
1960TV
Klondike
Judge Frank Weinstock
1960TV
Outlaws
1960TV
The Westerner
Ben Potts
1960TV
Hong Kong
John Olwine
1960TV
The Hanging Tree
Tom Flaunce
1959Movie
No Name on the Bullet
Stricker
1959Movie
Mr. Lucky
1959TV
Hawaiian Eye
1959TV
Rawhide
1959TV
Black Saddle
Dr. Wyle
1959TV
Lock-Up
1959TV
The Rebel
Lew Bussey
1959TV
Riverboat
Ansel Torgin
1959TV
Johnny Ringo
Kramer
1959TV
Bonanza
Carl Harris
1959TV
Tightrope
Brahn
1959TV
Kings Go Forth
The Colonel
1958Movie
Gateways to the Mind
Hal - the Cameraman (uncredited)
1958Movie
77 Sunset Strip
1958TV
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958TV
Bronco
1958TV
The Rifleman
Chris Manse
1958TV
Bat Masterson
Jim Pate
1958TV
The Texan
1958TV
Four Boys and a Gun
Mr. Badek
1957Movie
Trackdown
1957TV
Perry Mason
Axel Norstaad
1957TV
Leave It to Beaver
George Haskell
1957TV
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957TV
Sugarfoot
Andy Burke
1957TV
The Court of Last Resort
1957TV
The Walter Winchell File
1957TV
Maverick
Captain Nares
1957TV
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Andre Rochambeau
1956TV
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Lee Willis
1956TV
Alice in Wonderland
Humpty Dumpty
1955Movie
Gunsmoke
Hank Luz
1955TV
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Ed Holland
1955TV
Playwrights '56
1955TV
Lassie
1954TV
Portia Faces Life
1954TV
The Wonderful World of Disney
Laredo Marshal (uncredited)
1954TV
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Humpty Dumpty
1951TV
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Asmussen
1951TV
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950TV
December 7th
Machine-Gunner (uncredited)
1943Movie
Strangers All
Protester at Communist Meeting
1935Movie