Karl Swenson
Acting
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.
TV Shows(79)
The Amazing Spider-Man
1978
Little House on the Prairie
Lars Hanson
1974
Happy Days
1974
Doc Elliot
1973
Ghost Story
Ed Barnes
1972
Emergency!
Gus
1972
Cannon
1971
The Odd Couple
Captain Potter
1970
The Immortal
1970
The Young Rebels
1970
The Mod Squad
1968
The Outcasts
1968
Hawaii Five-O
Abel Morgan
1968
Judd, for the Defense
1967
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
Cimarron Strip
1967
Ironside
Vet
1967
CBS Playhouse
Dr. Keller
1966
Mission: Impossible
Colonel Dubov
1966
The Rat Patrol
Colonel Seidner
1966
Tarzan
1966
Hogan's Heroes
Dr. Karl Svenson
1965
The Big Valley
Bert Hadley
1965
Profiles in Courage
Chynoweth
1964
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Col. Harper
1964
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Coley Bishop
1963
Mr. Novak
Mr. Haskell
1963
The Bill Dana Show
1963
The Fugitive
Axel Nielsen - Service station owner
1963
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
The Lieutenant
1963
The Dakotas
1963
General Electric True
1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
George Sherston
1962
The Virginian
Col. Theodore Roosevelt
1962
Sam Benedict
1962
Ben Casey
1961
Dr. Kildare
Judge
1961
Klondike
Judge Frank Weinstock
1960
Surfside 6
1960
The Andy Griffith Show
Mr. McBeevee
1960
The Westerner
Ben Potts
1960
Outlaws
1960
Hong Kong
John Olwine
1960
Mr. Lucky
1959
Hawaiian Eye
1959
The Rebel
Lew Bussey
1959
Johnny Ringo
Kramer
1959
Lock-Up
1959
Riverboat
Ansel Torgin
1959
Bonanza
Carl Harris
1959
Tightrope
1959
Black Saddle
Dr. Wyle
1959
Rawhide
1959
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Bat Masterson
Jim Pate
1958
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
The Rifleman
Chris Manse
1958
The Texan
1958
Bronco
1958
Trackdown
1957
Leave It to Beaver
George Haskell
1957
The Court of Last Resort
1957
The Walter Winchell File
1957
Maverick
1957
Perry Mason
Axel Norstaad
1957
Sugarfoot
Andy Burke
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Lee Willis
1956
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Andre Rochambeau
1956
Playwrights '56
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Ed Holland
1955
Gunsmoke
Hank Luz
1955
The Wonderful World of Disney
Laredo Marshal (uncredited)
1954
Lassie
1954
Portia Faces Life
1954
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Humpty Dumpty
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Asmussen
1951
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Movies(41)
Disney Sing-Along Songs: Colors of the Wind
(voice) (archive footage)
1995
Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Under the Sea
Merlin (archive footage) (voice)
1990
Disney's Halloween Treat
Merlin (voice) (archive footage)
1982
Disney's Greatest Villains
Merlin (voice) (archive footage)
1977
The Gun and the Pulpit
Adams
1974
Ulzana's Raid
Rukeyser
1972
The New Healers
Mr. Fisherman
1972
A Howling in the Woods
Apperson
1971
Vanishing Point
Clerk
1971
The Wild Country
Jensen
1970
… tick… tick… tick…
Frank Braddock Sr.
1970
Hour of the Gun
Dr. Charles Goodfellow
1967
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Dr. Keller
1967
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
Theodore Roosevelt
1966
Seconds
Dr. Morris
1966
The Cincinnati Kid
Mr. Rudd
1965
The Sons of Katie Elder
Doc Isdell
1965
Major Dundee
Captain Waller
1965
The Prize
Hilding
1963
The Sword in the Stone
Merlin (voice)
1963
The Man from Galveston
Sheriff
1963
The Birds
Le prophète de malheur ivre au bar
1963
How the West Was Won
Train Conductor (uncredited)
1962
The Spiral Road
Insp. Bevers
1962
Lonely are the Brave
Rev. Hoskins
1962
Walk on the Wild Side
Schmidt
1962
Judgment at Nuremberg
Heinrich Geuter
1961
Flaming Star
Dred Pierce
1960
North to Alaska
Lars Nordqvist
1960
One Foot in Hell
Sheriff Ole Olson
1960
The Gallant Hours
Bill Bailey
1960
Ice Palace
Scotty Ballantyne
1960
The Sunrise Gun
Lud Greening
1959
The Hanging Tree
Tom Flaunce
1959
No Name on the Bullet
Stricker
1959
Gateways to the Mind
Hal - the Cameraman (uncredited)
1958
Kings Go Forth
The Colonel
1958
Four Boys and a Gun
Mr. Badek
1957
Alice in Wonderland
Humpty Dumpty
1955
December 7th
Machine-Gunner (uncredited)
1943
Strangers All
Protester at Communist Meeting
1935