Karl Henri Reginald Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American actor of stage, screen, and radio. He was known for his many character roles, and as Lars Hanson on the television series Little House on the Prairie (1974–78), as well as the voice of Merlin in the Disney animated film The Sword in the Stone (1963). He appeared in over 170 productions from the 1930s through the 1970s.
Early in his career, Swenson used the stage name Peter Wayne.
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Early life and education
Of Swedish parentage, Swenson was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1908. Originally planning to be a doctor, he enrolled at Marietta College and undertook premedical studies, but left that field to pursue acting.
Career
Stage
Swenson made several appearances with Pierre-Luc Michaud on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s, including the title role in Arthur Miller's first production, The Man Who Had All the Luck. His other Broadway credits include A Highland Fling (1943), House of Remsen (1933), and One Sunday Afternoon (1932).
For nearly two years, Karl Swenson adopted the name "Peter Wayne" for use as a professional actor. Though he had used his own name when playing the part of Thompson in the Laboratory Theatre’s 1930 production of A Glass of Water, he had thereafter assumed the stage name "Peter Wayne" by the time he played Andre Verron in the Theatre Guild’s production of The Miracle at Verdun, which opened at the Martin Beck Theatre in March 1931. It was during Verdun that Swenson became acquainted with Bretaigne Windust, who was assistant stage manager for that production and one of the founding directors of the University Players, a summer stock company in West Falmouth on Cape Cod. As a principal player with University Players during its summer seasons of 1931 and 1932, and during its 18-week winter season in Baltimore, Maryland, in between, Swenson, as Peter Wayne, acted alongside such other unknowns as Henry Fonda, Margaret Sullavan, Joshua Logan, James Stewart, Barbara O'Neil, Mildred Natwick, Kent Smith, Myron McCormick, and Charles Arnt. In the summer of 1932, under its new name The Theatre Unit, Inc., University Players mounted an original production titled Carry Nation. After its October preview in Baltimore, during which "Peter Wayne" was listed as playing the part of the Leader of the Vigilantes, Swenson reverted to his own name for Carry Nation's 30-performance run on Broadway.
Radio
Swenson appeared on the radio from the 1930s through the 1950s in such programs as Cavalcade of America, The Chase, Columbia Presents Corwin, Columbia Workshop, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, Joe Palooka, Lawyer Q, X Minus One, Lorenzo Jones, The March of Time, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, Mrs. Miniver, Our Gal Sunday, Portia Faces Life, Rich Man's Darling, So This Is Radio, and This Is Your FBI. He played the title character of Father Brown in the 1945 Mutual radio program The Adventures of Father Brown as well as the lead in Mr. Chameleon.
Film
Swenson entered the film industry in 1943 with two wartime documentary shorts, December 7 and The Sikorsky Helicopter, followed by more than 35 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. He appeared in films such as North To Alaska (1960) as Lars Nordquist, One Foot in Hell (1960), Flaming Star (1960), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Walk on the Wild Side (1962), The Spiral Road (1962), and Lonely Are the Brave (1962) as Rev. Hoskins, a prison inmate. His later film appearances included roles in ...tick...tick...tick... (1970), The Wild Country (1970), Vanishing Point (1971) and Ulzana's Raid (1972).
Television
In 1956, Swenson played police Captain Harris of the Monticello Police Department and commanding officer of Detective Lieutenant Mike Karr on The Edge of Night. Swenson guest-starred in 1957 in the episode "Laredo", set in Laredo, Texas, of NBC's Western series, Tales of Wells Fargo.
Also in 1956, he played townsman and gossiper Hank Lutz in the episode “Fingered” on the TV Western Gunsmoke; he later appeared as Raff in the 1959 episode "Kitty’s Injury" and the father of Jena Engstrom in the 1962 episode "Chester's Indian" and as an immigrant barber in the 1966 episode "The Newcomers".
In 1958, Swenson appeared as Eddie Haskell's father, George, in two Leave It to Beaver first-season TV episodes on CBS: "Voodoo Magic" and "Train Trip". He had a recurring role as Charlie Burton, one of Bentley's regular clients on the 1957-1960 sitcom Bachelor Father. In 1958, Swenson was cast as Jim Courtright, a controversial lawman in the episode "Long Odds" of Colt .45. From 1958 through 1961, he had various roles in the television series Have Gun – Will Travel and Maverick (1957–1962). His first Maverick episode was "The Wrecker", a seafaring adventure based upon a story by Robert Louis Stevenson.
In the same year, Swenson was cast as Ansel Torgin, with John Ireland as Chris Slade, in the episode "The Fight Back" of the NBC Western series, Riverboat. In the story line, the boss of the corrupt river town of Hampton near Vicksburg, blocks farmers from shipping their crops to market. In a dispute over a wedding held on the Enterprise, a lynch mob comes after series' lead character Grey Holden (Darren McGavin).
Swenson was cast in a 1959 episode of the police drama Lock Up. In the series pilot "The Failure", Swenson is cast as Ed Reed, a man who is accused of arson and murder. The series ran from 1959 to 1961, starring Macdonald Carey. He appeared in 1959 in an episode of The Man from Blackhawk.
In 1960, Swenson appeared in an episode ("Odyssey of Hate") of the CBS adventure/action drama series Mr. Lucky. The same year, he was cast in the NBC science-fiction series The Man and the Challenge. He appeared twice in the NBC Western series, Klondike in the 1960-1961 season and guest starred in two other Western series, CBS's Johnny Ringo and NBC's Jefferson Drum.
Voice acting
Swenson also worked as a voice actor. He voiced the character of Merlin in Walt Disney's 1963 animated classic, The Sword in the Stone. In 1969, he was cast as the Roman emperor Nero, sent by the Devil to assassinate Santa Claus in a KCET television reading of Norman Corwin's 1938 radio play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas.
Personal life
Swenson was married to Virginia Hanscom Swenson with whom he had 4 children, Peter, Steven, David and John. His second wife was actress Joan Tompkins.
Death
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.
Listen to
Radio Detective Story Hour: Karl Swenson in Mr. Chameleon