Karl Swenson(1908-1978)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Of Swedish descent, burly, light-haired character actor Karl Swenson
was born in Brooklyn and started his four-decade career on radio.
Throughout the late 30s and 40s, his voice could be heard all over the
airwaves, appearing in scores of daytime serials ("Lorenzo Jones") and
mystery dramas ("Inner Sanctum Mysteries"). He gave visual life to one
of his serial characters, Walter Manning, in "Portia Faces Life" when
it went to TV in 1953. It was during his lengthy work in this medium
that he met his wife, stage and radio actress Joan Tompkins. They appeared
together throughout their careers on TV and in a few films. In the
1950s, he kept afloat on TV in rugged guest spots (Dr. Kildare (1961), Gunsmoke (1955),
Maverick (1957), Mission: Impossible (1966) and Hawaii Five-O (1968)). He didn't appear in films until age 50+
with minor roles in Kings Go Forth (1958), North to Alaska (1960), The Birds (1963) and The Sons of Katie Elder (1965). His voice
was also well utilized in such animated features as The Sword in the Stone (1963) as the
voice of Merlin. Karl met actor Michael Landon on the set of Bonanza (1959),
appearing in four separate episodes over time. Landon remembered him
when he began to film Little House on the Prairie (1974). Cast in the recurring role of lumber
mill owner Lars Hanson, he remained with the show until his death in
1978 of a heart attack. His character on the show also
died.
