Karl Swenson
Biography
Karl Swenson was an American actor who worked on stage, in films, and on radio. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1908, he died in 1978. His career covered more than 170 productions between the 1930s and the 1970s. On Broadway he took the lead in Arthur Miller's first production, a play titled The Man Who Had All the Luck, and early on he acted under the name Peter Wayne. In radio he played Father Brown and the lead in Mr. Chameleon. His film work included the doomsayer in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963), the voice of Merlin in Disney's The Sword in the Stone (1963), and roles in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and Seconds (1966). On television he was Lars Hanson in Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1978.
70years old at death
- Born Brooklyn
- Died Torrington
- Star sign: LeoFirst day of the sign, on the Cancer cusp
Movie Career
- Films
- 23
- Career span
- 16 years1958 to 1974
Genres
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About the name
Early in his career, Swenson acted under the stage name Peter Wayne for nearly two years, beginning with the Theatre Guild's 1931 production of The Miracle at Verdun at the Martin Beck Theatre.
Early training
As Peter Wayne, Swenson was a principal player with the University Players summer stock company in 1931 and 1932, acting alongside unknowns who included Henry Fonda, James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.
First role
In the 1930s and 1940s, Swenson appeared on Broadway several times with Pierre-Luc Michaud, and he took the title role in The Man Who Had All the Luck, Arthur Miller's first production.
Karl Swenson movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Henry Hathaway directed two of these films, Delmer Daves two and Daniel Petrie two. Six actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
George Kennedy's page
Jeff Corey's page
John Qualen's page
Dub Taylor's page
Richard Jaeckel's page
William Schallert's page
Henry HathawayDirector, 2 films, 1960 to 1965
All films by Henry Hathaway
Delmer DavesDirector, 2 films, 1958 to 1959
All films by Delmer Daves
Daniel PetrieDirector, 2 films, 1971 to 1974
All films by Daniel Petrie
Box office
What Karl Swenson's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$160 million
10 of the 23 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 23 films: 10 worldwide figure; 2 us gross only; 2 never in cinemas; 9 figure not found.
- 10Worldwide figure
- 2US gross only
- 2Never in cinemas
- 9Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 99% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$72M45.2% of the total
- 2$23M14.4% of the total
- 3$22M13.9% of the total
- 4$15M9.5% of the total
- 5$12M7.2% of the total
- 6$10M6.3% of the total
- 7$2.0M1.3% of the total
- 8$2.0M1.3% of the total
$1.8 millionfrom the other 2 films with a worldwide figure, 1% of the total
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.