KARL SWENSON BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Karl Swenson was born on July 23rd, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. His career in entertainment began as an old time radio actor. He made quite a name for himself being heard on such programs as, "Lorenzo Jones", "Inner Sanctum Mysteries", "Cavalcade of America", "The Chase", "Columbia Present Corwin", "The March of Time", "The Mercury Theatre on the Air", "Portia Faces Life" and "This Is Your FBI".
Swenson also appeared on a number of Broadway productions during the 30's and 40's in such productions as, "The Man Who Had All the Luck" and "A Glass of Water". With all his experience as a radio and stage actor, he had gained quite a bit of popularity that by the mid 40's he decided to give film work a try.
Some of his early film roles were in the documentaries, "December 7" and "The Sikorsky Helicopter" (1943). Other film roles over the course of his career included the teen rebels film, "Four Boys and a Gun" (1957) starring Frank Sutton, "The Hanging Tree" (1959) starring Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden and George C. Scott, "Ice Palace" (1960) starring Richard Burton, Martha Hyer, Robert Ryan and Carolyn Jones, "Flaming Star" (1960) starring Elvis Presley and Barbara Eden, "The Sons of Katie Elder" (1965) starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Earl Holliman, Michael Anderson Jr., Martha Hyer, James Gregory, George Kennedy and Dennis Hopper, "Major Dundee" (1965) starring Charlton Heston and Richard Harris and "The Cincinatti Kid" (1965) starring Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson.
Along with film work, he appeared on over fifty television series some of which were, "Maverick", "Laramie", "The Andy Griffith Show", "Lassie", "Death Valley Days", "The Eleventh Hour", "The Adventures of Jim Bowie", "Bat Masterson", The Rifleman", "Sugarfoot", "Mission: Impossible", "Bonanza", "Zane Grey Theatre", "Dr. Kildare", "Hawaii Five-O" and he is most well known for his role on, "Little House on the Prairie".
Swenson married twice throughout his lifetime, first to Virginia Hanscom in 1930 and they had four children together before the marriage ended in divorce. He then married Joan Tompkins and they stayed together until he passed away.
On October 8th, 1978 Karl Swenson suffered a heart attack in Torrington, Connecticut and his remains are interred at Center Cemetery in New Milford, Connecticut.
Filmography
1974-1978 Little House on the Prairie
1978 The Amazing Spider-Man
1958-1975 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
1975 Cannon
1974 Happy Days
1974 Apple's Way
1974 The Gun and the Pulpit
1974 Doc Elliot
1974 The Streets of San Francisco
1974 Emergency!
1973 Barnaby Jones
1973 The Odd Couple
1962-1972 Lassie
1972 Ulzana's Raid
1972 Circle of Fear
1972 The New Healers
1970-1972 The Mod Squad
1972 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
1972 Longstreet
1971 A Howling in the Woods
1971 The Birdmen
1971 This Is the Life
1971 Dan August
1957-1971 Gunsmoke
1971 Ironside
1971 Medical Center
1971 Vanishing Point
1970 The Wild Country
1970 The Immortal
1969-1970 Insight
1970 Hawaii Five-O
1970 ...tick... tick... tick...
1962-1969 The Virginian
1968-1969 Mission: Impossible
1969 Tiger, Tiger
1969 The Outcasts
1968 Premiere
1968 The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967-1968 Cimarron Strip
1968 Judd for the Defense
1968 Tarzan
1959-1967 Bonanza
1967 Hour of the Gun
1967 Hogan's Heroes
1967 CBS Playhouse
1967 Brighty of the Grand Canyon
1967 The Rat Patrol
1965-1967 The Big Valley
1966 12 O'Clock High
1966 Seconds
1966 A Man Called Shenandoah
1965 Convoy
1965 Dr. Kildare
1962-1965 Perry Mason
1965 The Cincinnati Kid
1965 The Sons of Katie Elder
1965 Major Dundee
1959-1965 Rawhide
1964-1965 The Fugitive
1965 Diamond Jim: Skulduggery in Samantha
1964 Death Valley Days
1964 Mr. Novak
1964 Profiles in Courage
1964 Gomer Pyle: USMC
1964 The Bill Dana Show
1963-1964 The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
1961-1964 Wagon Train
1963 The Sword in the Stone
1963 The Prize
1963 The Man from Galveston
1963 Temple Houston
1963 The Greatest Show on Earth
1963 The Lieutenant
1958-1963 77 Sunset Strip
1959-1963 Laramie
1963 The Birds
1963 G.E. True Theater
1963 The Eleventh Hour
1962-1963 Sam Benedict
1963 The Dakotas
1962 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962 How the West Was Won
1962 The Andy Griffith Show
1962 The Comedy Spot
1962 Kraft Mystery Theater
1962 The Spiral Road
1961-1962 The Untouchables
1962 Lonely Are the Brave
1962 The Dick Powell Theatre
1962 Walk on the Wild Side
1962 Surfside 6
1962 Ripcord
1962 Ben Casey
1961 Judgment at Nuremberg
1961 Window on Main Street
1961 Outlaws
1958-1961 Have Gun - Will Travel
1961 The Case of the Dangerous Robin
1960-1961 The Best of the Post
1960-1961 Klondike
1957-1961 Maverick
1961 The Aquanauts
1960 Flaming Star
1960 Hong Kong
1960 North to Alaska
1960 Hawaiian Eye
1958-1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1960 One Foot in Hell
1960 Johnny Ringo
1960 The Gallant Hours
1960 The Man and the Challenge
1960 Mr. Lucky
1960 The Rifleman
1960 Hotel de Paree
1958-1960 Bachelor Father
1960 Ice Palace
1959-1960 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958-1959 The Texan
1959 Black Saddle
1958-1959 Zane Grey Theatre
1959 The Rebel
1959 The Man from Blackhawk
1959 Riverboat
1959 Lock Up
1959 Men Into Space
1959 Tightrope
1959 Bronco
1959 The Jack Benny Program
1959 Steve Canyon
1959 No Name on the Bullet
1958-1959 Sugarfoot
1959 The Hanging Tree
1959 Trackdown
1959 The Grand Jury
1958 Bat Masterson
1958 The Badlanders
1958 Jefferson Drum
1958 Kings Go Forth
1958 Cheyenne
1958 Colt .45
1958 Leave It to Beaver
1958 Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre
1958 The Adventures of Jim Bowie
1957 Tales of Wells Fargo
1957 The Court of Last Resort
1957 Schlitz Playhouse
1957 Circus Boy
1957 The Walter Winchell File
1957 The Big Story
1956-1957 Robert Montgomery Presents
1957 The United States Steel Hour
1957 Four Boys and a Gun
1956 Playwrights '56
1955 Alice in Wonderland
1955 Mr. Citizen
1954 Ponds Theater
1954 The Inner Flame
1943 December 7th
1935 Strangers All
