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John Qualen

John Qualen

Birthday: 1899-12-08 | Place of Birth: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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. Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of immigrants from Norway; his father was a Lutheran minister and changed the family's original surname, "Kvalen", to "Qualen" – though some sources give Oleson, later Oleson Kvalen as Qualen's earlier surnames. His father's ministering meant many moves and John was 20 when he graduated from Elgin High School in 1920. Though he was awarded a scholarship to Northwestern University after he won an oratory contest he never attended college. In a Milwaukee Journal interview he said he needed to start working and did so with the Chattaqua Circuit. Eventually reaching Broadway, he gained his big break as the Swedish janitor in Elmer Rice's Street Scene. His movie career began when he recreated the role in the film version. This was followed by his appearance in John Ford's Arrowsmith (1931) which began a more than thirty year membership in the director's "stock company", with important supporting roles in The Searchers (1956), Two Rode Together (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). Appearing in well over one hundred films, and acting extensively on television into the 1970s, Qualen performed many of his roles with various accents, usually Scandinavian, often intended for comic effect. Three of his more memorable roles showcase his versatility. Qualen assumed a Midwestern dialect as Muley, who recounts the destruction of his farm by the bank in Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940), and as the confused killer Earl Williams in Howard Hawks' classic comedy His Girl Friday (also 1940). As Berger, the jewelry-selling Norwegian resistance member in Michael Curtiz' Casablanca (1942), he essayed a light Scandinavian accent, but put on a thicker Mediterranean accent as the homeward-bound fisherman Locota in William Wellman's The High and the Mighty (1954) Qualen was treasurer of The Authors Club and historian of The Masquers, Hollywood's social group for actors. John Qualen was blind in his later years. He died of heart failure in 1987 in Torrance, California, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. He was survived by his three daughters.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1966
A Big Hand for the Little Lady

as    Jesse Buford

1965
A Patch of Blue

as    Mr. Faber

1965
I'll Take Sweden

as    Olaf

1962
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

as    Peter Ericson

1960
North to Alaska

as    Logger

1958
Revolt in the Big House

as    Doc

1958
My World Dies Screaming

as    Jonah Snell

1958
The Gun Runners

as    Pop

1957
The Big Land

as    Sven Johnson

1956
The Searchers

as    Lars Jorgensen

1955
The Sea Chase

as    Chief Engineer Schmitt

1954
Passion

as    Gaspar Melo

1952
Hans Christian Andersen

as    Burgomaster

1951
Belle Le Grand

as    Corky McGee

1950
Woman on the Run

as    Maibus

1949
The Big Steal

as    Julius Seton

1948
16 Fathoms Deep

as    Capt. Athos

1948
Alias a Gentleman

as    No End

1948
Hollow Triumph

as    Swangron

1948
Reaching from Heaven

as    The Stranger

1947
The Fugitive

as    A Refugee Doctor

1945
Captain Kidd

as    Bart Blivens

1945
Adventure

as    Model T

1944
Dark Waters

as    Uncle Norbert

1942
Arabian Nights

as    Aladdin

1942
Tortilla Flat

as    Jose Maria Corcoran

1942
Larceny, Inc.

as    Sam Bachrach

1942
Jungle Book

as    The Barber

1941
All That Money Can Buy

as    Miser Stevens

1941
Out of the Fog

as    Olaf Johnson