John Qualen

John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was a Canadian-American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles.

Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of immigrants from Norway; his father was a Lutheran minister. Some sources give Oleson as the family's original name, later Oleson Kvalen as Qualen's earlier surnames. His father's ministering meant many moves and John was 20 when he graduated from Elgin (Illinois) High School in 1920. Qualen attended the University of Toronto for four years, but he left to join a Toronto-based traveling troupe as an actor. At the conclusion of a tour following his marriage, Qualen and his wife, Pearle, formed a company to produce plays. The group's stops in a two-year tour included Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans. The Qualens' income was low enough that he sold cookware in New York for additional funds. Using a handcart to move the merchandise, he made more money from sales than from his acting. The couple had three children, one of whom, Kathy, was an actress.

Filmography 1930s

Street Scene (1931) as Karl Olsen Arrowsmith (1931) as Henry Novak (uncredited) The Devil's Brother (1933) as Man who owned bull (unconfirmed) Counsellor at Law (1933) as Johan Breitstein Let's Fall in Love (1933) as Svente Bjorkman (uncredited) Hi Nellie! (1934) as Steve (uncredited) No Greater Glory (1934) as Nemecsek's father Upper World (1934) as Chris Sing and Like It (1934) as Oswald Private Scandal (1934) as Schultz (uncredited) He Was Her Man (1934) as Dutch Our Daily Bread (1934) as Chris Straight Is the Way (1934) as Mr. Chapman (uncredited) Servants' Entrance (1934) as Detective 365 Nights in Hollywood (1934) as Professor Herman Ellenbogen Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) as Consierge One More Spring (1935) as Auctioneer The Great Hotel Murder (1935) as Ole Black Fury (1935) as Mike Chasing Yesterday (1935) as Aristide Coccoz Silk Hat Kid (1935) as Mr. Fossbender Doubting Thomas as Von Blitzer The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) as Sol Tinker Orchids to You (1935) as Smith Thunder in the Night (1935) as Hotel porter The Three Musketeers (1935) as Planchet Whipsaw (1935) as Will Dabson Man of Iron (1935) as Collins Ring Around the Moon (1936) as Bill Harvey Wife vs. Secretary (1936) as Mr. Jenkins (uncredited) The Country Doctor (1936) as Asa Wyatt The Road to Glory (1936) as Scared soldier Meet Nero Wolfe (1936) as Olaf Girls' Dormitory (1936) as Toni Reunion (1936) as Asa Wyatt Seventh Heaven (1937) as Sewer Rat Angel's Holiday (1937) as Waldo Everett Fifty Roads to Town (1937) as Sheriff Dow She Had to Eat (1937) as Sleepy Fit for a King (1937) as Otto Nothing Sacred (1937) as Fireman (uncredited) The Bad Man of Brimstone (1937) as "Loco" Joy of Living (1938) as Oswego The Texans (1938) as Abilene Swede (uncredited) The Chaser (1938) as Lars The Mad Miss Manton (1938) as Subway worker Five of a Kind (1938) as Asa Wyatt The Strange Case of Dr. Meade (1938) as Stoner Stand Up and Fight (1939) as Davy Let Us Live (1939) as Dan (uncredited) Mickey the Kid (1939) as Mailman Career (1939) as Jeff Trotter (uncredited) Honeymoon in Bali (1939) as Meek man Thunder Afloat (1939) as Milo Four Wives (1939) as Frank

1940s His Girl Friday (1940) as Earl Williams The Grapes of Wrath (1940) as Muley Graves Blondie on a Budget (1940) as Mr. Ed Fuddle Saturday's Children (1940) as First carpenter (uncredited) Ski Patrol (1940) as Gustaf On Their Own (1940) as Peters Babies for Sale (1940) as Howard Anderson Angels Over Broadway (1940) as Charles Engle Knute Rockne, All American (1940) Lars Knuteson Rockne The Long Voyage Home (1940) as Axel Youth Will Be Served (1940) as Clem Howie Model Wife (1941) as Janitor Million Dollar Baby (1941) as Dr. Patterson Out of the Fog (1941) as Olaf Johnson The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) as Coot Royal The Great Awakening (1941) as Hasslinger's Clerk The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) as Miser Stevens Jungle Book (1942) as The Barber Larceny, Inc. (1942) as Sam Bachrach Tortilla Flat (1942) as Jose Maria Corcoran Casablanca (1942) as Berger Arabian Nights (1942) as Alladin Swing Shift Maisie (1943) as Horatio Curly The Impostor (1944) as Monge An American Romance (1944) as Anton Dubechek Dark Waters (1944) as Uncle Norbert Roughly Speaking (1945) as Svend Olsen River Gang (1945) as Uncle Bill Captain Kidd (1945) as Bart Blivens Adventure (1945) as Model T Song of Scheherazade (1947) as Lorenzo High Conquest (1947) as Peter Oberwalder Sr. The Fugitive (1947) as Refugee doctor Reaching from Heaven (1948) as The Stranger On Our Merry Way (1948) (deleted sequence, uncredited) Alias a Gentleman (1948) as No End My Girl Tisa (1948) as Svenson 16 Fathoms Deep (1948) as Capt. Athos Hollow Triumph (1948) as Swangon The Big Steal (1949) as Julius Seton

1950s Captain China (1950) as Geech Buccaneer's Girl (1950) as Vegetable man Woman on the Run (1950) as Maibus The Jackpot (1950) as Mr. Ferguson (uncredited) The Flying Missile (1950) as Lars Hansen Belle Le Grand (1951) as Corky McGee Goodbye, My Fancy (1951) as Professor Dingley Hans Christian Andersen (1952) as Burgomaster Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (1953) as Jonas P. Travis Francis Covers the Big Town (1953) as Defense Attorney Cavendish (uncredited) I, the Jury (1953) as Dr. R. H. Vickers The High and the Mighty (1954) as Jose Locota The Student Prince (1954) as Willie Klauber Passion (1954) as Gasper Melo The Other Woman (1954) as Papasha Unchained (1955) as Leonard Haskins The Sea Chase (1955) as Chief Engineer Schmitt At Gunpoint (1955) as Livingstone The Searchers (1956) as Lars Jorgensen Johnny Concho (1956) as Jake The Big Land (1957) as Sven Johnson My World Dies Screaming (1958) as Jonah Snell The Gun Runners (1958) as Pop Revolt in the Big House (1958) as Doc Anatomy of a Murder (1959) as Deputy Sheriff Sulo

1960s Hell Bent for Leather (1960) as Old Ben Elmer Gantry (1960) as Sam, a storekeeper (uncredited) North to Alaska (1960) as Logger Judge Two Rode Together (1961) as Ole Knudsen The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) as Peter Erickson Donovan's Reef (1963) as Deckhand (uncredited) The Prize (1963) as Oscar 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) as Luther Lindquist Cheyenne Autumn (1964) as Svenson (uncredited) Those Calloways (1965) as Ernie Evans I'll Take Sweden (1965) as Olaf The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) as Charlie Biller A Patch of Blue (1965) as Mr. Faber A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) as Jesse Buford The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967) as Barber (uncredited) Firecreek (1968) as Hall P.J. (1968) as Poppa Gonowski Doc (1969, TV Movie) as Luke Hail, Hero! (1969) as Billy Hurd

1970s Getting Away from It All (1972, TV Movie) as Charlie Erickson Wednesday Night Out (1972, TV Movie) Frasier, the Sensuous Lion (1973) as Old man on porch

Television Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season 1 Episode 14: "A Bullet for Baldwin") (1956) – Benjamin Stepp Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season 1 Episode 18: "Shopping for Death") (1956) – Elmer Shore Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season 1 Episode 27: "Help Wanted") (1956) – Mr. Crabtree Father Knows Best, episode "The Bus to Nowhere" - Old Man (1956) Cheyenne, episode "Deadline" – Charley Dolan (1957) Maverick, episode "The Lonesome Reunion" – Leland Mills (1958) The Californians episode "J. Jimmerson Jones, Inc."—J. Jimmerson Jones (1958) Sea Hunt (1960) Season 3, Episode 31 Mister Ed, episode "Ed's New Shoes" – Axel (the Handyman) (1961) Bonanza, episode "Springtime" – Parley (1961) Maverick, episode "The Golden Fleecing" – Henry Albright (1961) The Andy Griffith Show, episode "The Jinx" – Henry Bennett (1962) Lawman, episode "Explosion" - Doc Shay (1962) Laramie, episode "Shadow of the Past" – Mr. Elbee (1962) The Real McCoys, episode "Cupid Wore a Tail" – Frank (1963) The Real McCoys, episode "The Other Side of the Fence" – Frank (1963) Make Room for Daddy, episodes "Sense of Humor" and "Call Off the Hounds" – Swenson, the Janitor (1964) The Virginian, episode "A Bride for Lars" – Gosta Swenson (1964) The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., episode "The Jewels of Topango Affair" – Dr. Elmer Spritzer (1966) Hazel, episode "A Question of Ethics" – Mr. Johansson (1966) Shane, episode "The Hant" - Old Man (1966) I Spy, episode "Red Sash of Courage" – Hannos (1967) Green Acres, episode "Eb's Romance" - Mr. Appleby (1968) Green Acres, episode "The Ex-Con" - Willy Dunhill (1970) The Odd Couple, episode "The Taste Of Money" - Sam (1971) Make Room for Granddaddy, episode "The Arm Wrestle" Folsom (1971) The Partridge Family episode "My Heart Belongs to a Two Car Garage" – The Old Man (1972) The F.B.I., episode "The Detonator" (1973) Movin' On, episode "Life Line" – Liggett (1974) (final appearance)