Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 β October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne
Swenson was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Swedish parentage. Planning to be a doctor, he enrolled at Marietta College and undertook pre-medical studies but left that field to pursue acting.
Swenson appeared extensively on the radio from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Swenson entered the film industry in 1943 with two wartime documentary shorts, December 7 and The Sikorsky Helicopter, followed by more than thirty-five 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. His later film appearances included roles in ...tick...tick...tick... (1970), The Wild Country (1970), Vanishing Point (1971) and Ulzana's Raid (1972).
Swenson was married to actress Joan Tompkins.
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. CLR
Filmography
all 114
TV Shows 75
Movies 39
Voice 3
self 1
Disney Sing-Along Songs: Colors of the Wind (1995)
Disney's Halloween Treat (1982)
The Amazing Spider-Man (1978)
Little House on the Prairie (1974)
The Gun and the Pulpit (1974)
Happy Days (1974)
Doc Elliot (1973)
Ulzana's Raid (1972)
Ghost Story (1972)
The New Healers (1972)
Emergency! (1972)
A Howling in the Woods (1971)
Cannon (1971)
Vanishing Point (1971)
The Wild Country (1970)
The Immortal (1970)
The Odd Couple (1970)
The Young Rebels (1970)
Tick... Tick... Tick... (1970)
The Mod Squad (1968)
The Outcasts (1968)
Hawaii Five-O (1968)
Hour of the Gun (1967)
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night (1967)
The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967)
Judd for the Defense (1967)
Cimarron Strip (1967)
Ironside (1967)
CBS Playhouse (1966)
Brighty of the Grand Canyon (1966)
Seconds (1966)
The Rat Patrol (1966)
Tarzan (1966)
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Hogan's Heroes (1965)
The Big Valley (1965)
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Major Dundee (1965)
Profiles in Courage (1964)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964)
The Prize (1963)
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
The Man from Galveston (1963)
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963)
Mr. Novak (1963)
The Bill Dana Show (1963)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1963)
The Fugitive (1963)
The Lieutenant (1963)
The Birds (1963)
The Dakotas (1963)
How the West Was Won (1962)
General Electric True (1962)
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)
The Virginian (1962)
Sam Benedict (1962)
The Spiral Road (1962)
Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
Pericles on 31st Street (1962)
Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Ben Casey (1961)
Dr. Kildare (1961)
Flaming Star (1960)
North to Alaska (1960)
Klondike (1960)
Surfside 6 (1960)
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
The Westerner (1960)
Outlaws (1960)
One Foot in Hell (1960)
The Gallant Hours (1960)
Hong Kong (1960)
Ice Palace (1960)
Mr. Lucky (1959)
Hawaiian Eye (1959)
The Rebel (1959)
Johnny Ringo (1959)
Lock Up (1959)
Riverboat (1959)
Tightrope (1959)
The Hanging Tree (1959)
No Name on the Bullet (1959)
Black Saddle (1959)
Gateways to the Mind (1958)
77 Sunset Strip (1958)
Bat Masterson (1958)
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958)
The Rifleman (1958)
The Texan (1958)
Bronco (1958)
Kings Go Forth (1958)
Leave It to Beaver (1957)
Trackdown (1957)
The Court of Last Resort (1957)
The Walter Winchell File (1957)
Maverick (1957)
Perry Mason (1957)
Sugarfoot (1957)
Have Gun, Will Travel (1957)
Four Boys and a Gun (1957)
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (1956)
The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956)
Alice in Wonderland (1955)
Playwrights '56 (1955)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)
Gunsmoke (1955)
Lassie (1954)
Portia Faces Life (1954)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1951)
Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)
December 7th (1943)
Strangers All (1935)
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1908-07-23
Deathday1978-10-08 (70 years old)
Birth PlaceBrooklyn, United States of America
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
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