John Qualen
Known for Acting · 178 credits
- Born
- 1899-12-06
- Died
- 1987-09-12
- Place of birth
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Also known as
- John M. Qualen · John T. Qualen · Johan Mandt Kvalen
Biography
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.
Known For
TV Shows (43)
The Andy Griffith Show
1960
as Henry Bennett
Dragnet
1951
Climax!
1954
as Geist
Maverick
1957
as Leland Mills
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
as Gus Gruntle
The Virginian
1962
as Gosta Swenson
Dr. Kildare
1961
as Mr. Callahan
Lawman
1958
as Doc Shea
Ben Casey
1961
Cheyenne
1955
Green Acres
1965
as Mr. Appleby / Willie Dunhill
The Donna Reed Show
1958
as Zeke
Burke's Law
1963
as Richard Prince (uncredited)
The Odd Couple
1970
as Groundskeeper / Mr. Larson / Sam
Thriller
1960
as Streetcar Conductor
Father Knows Best
1954
as Old Man
The Real McCoys
1957
as Frank
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
as Frank Casey
Sea Hunt
1958
My Favorite Martian
1963
as Matt
Sugarfoot
1957
as Jens Jensen
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Mr. Stepp / Elmer Shore / Mr. Crabtree
The Millionaire
1955
as Harry Stonewall Jackson
Mister Ed
1961
as Milo Simmons
The Partridge Family
1970
as The Old Man
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Public Defender
1954
as Ames
December Bride
1954
Bronco
1958
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Eddie
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
1960
The Third Man
1959
Tightrope
1959
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
1966
as Dr. Elmer Spritzer
Racket Squad
1951
The Alaskans
1959
Yancy Derringer
1958
as Capt. Sven Larsen
Shane
1966
as Old Man
Jericho
1966
General Electric Theater
1953
Tate
1960
as Sam
No Time for Sergeants
1964
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Pop Bradshaw / Peleg Brewster
Movies (135)
Casablanca
1943
as Berger
The Searchers
1956
as Lars Jorgensen
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962
as Peter Ericson
Anatomy of a Murder
1959
as Deputy Sheriff Sulo Kangas
The Grapes of Wrath
1940
as Muley Graves
His Girl Friday
1940
as Earl Williams
Jungle Book
1942
as The Barber
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
as Charlie Biller
North to Alaska
1960
as Logger
Cheyenne Autumn
1964
as Svenson (uncredited)
Donovan's Reef
1963
as Deckhand Who Cries 'Man Overboard' (uncredited)
Captain Kidd
1945
as Bart Blivens
The Big Land
1957
as Sven Johnson
Hi, Nellie!
1934
as Steve (uncredited)
The High and the Mighty
1954
as Jose Locota
The Impostor
1944
as Monge
The Jackpot
1950
as Mr. Ferguson (uncredited)
Hollow Triumph
1948
as Swangron
P.J.
1968
as Poppa
Elmer Gantry
1960
as Sam - Storekeeper
Two Rode Together
1961
as Ole Knudsen
All That Money Can Buy
1941
as Miser Stevens
Tortilla Flat
1942
as Jose Maria Corcoran
The Prize
1963
as Oscar
Firecreek
1968
as Hall
Getting Away from It All
1972
as Charlie Erickson
Adventure
1945
as Model T
A Patch of Blue
1965
as Mr. Faber
La Classe américaine
1993
as V12 (archive footage) (uncredited)
Nothing Sacred
1937
as Fireman (uncredited)
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
1966
as Jesse Buford
The Fugitive
1947
as A Refugee Doctor
An American Romance
1944
as Anton Dubechek
Passion
1954
as Gaspar Melo
Arabian Nights
1942
as Aladdin
Unchained
1955
as Leonard Haskins
The Mad Miss Manton
1938
as Night Watchman at Subway Construction Site
Breakdowns of 1942
1942
as Self
Those Calloways
1964
as Ernie Evans
Million Dollar Baby
1941
as Dr. Patterson
At Gunpoint
1955
as Livingstone
Blondie on a Budget
1940
as Ed Fuddle
Out of the Fog
1941
as Olaf Johnson
Thunder Afloat
1939
as Milo
Arrowsmith
1931
as Henry Novak (uncredited)
Captain China
1950
as Geech
Woman on the Run
1950
as Maibus
The Shepherd of the Hills
1941
as Coot Royal
River Gang
1945
as Uncle Bill
The Long Voyage Home
1940
as Axel
Seventh Heaven
1937
as Sewer Rat
The Sea Chase
1955
as Chief Engineer Schmitt
Wife vs. Secretary
1936
as Mr. Jenkins (uncredited)
Four Wives
1939
as Frank
Knute Rockne All American
1940
as Lars Knutson Rockne
Hans Christian Andersen
1952
as Burgomaster
Buccaneer's Girl
1950
as Vegetable Seller
Angel's Holiday
1937
as Waldo Everett
The Gun Runners
1958
as Pop
Fifty Roads to Town
1937
as Sheriff Dow
The Road to Glory
1936
as Duflous
Belle Le Grand
1951
as Corky McGee
Thunder in the Night
1935
as Hotel Porter
Our Daily Bread
1934
as Chris (as John T. Qualen)
Black Fury
1935
as Mike Shemanski
Doubting Thomas
1935
as Von Blitzen
Ambush at Tomahawk Gap
1953
as Jonas P. Travis
Reaching from Heaven
1948
as The Stranger
He Was Her Man
1934
as Dutch, Santa Avila's Cabbie
Dark Waters
1944
as Uncle Norbert
Joy of Living
1938
as Oswego
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
1964
as Luther Lindquist
Charlie Chan in Paris
1935
as Concierge, Dufresne's Hotel (bit)
Doc
1969
as Luke
Reunion
1936
as Asa Wyatt
Five of a Kind
1938
as Asa Wyatt
I'll Take Sweden
1965
as Olaf
Girls' Dormitory
1936
as Toni
Swing Shift Maisie
1943
as Horatio Curley
Whipsaw
1935
as Will Dabson
Larceny, Inc.
1942
as Sam Bachrach
The Flying Missile
1950
as Lars Hansen
Saturday's Children
1940
as First Carpenter (uncredited)
Model Wife
1941
as The Janitor
Hell Bent for Leather
1960
as Old Ben
Servants' Entrance
1934
as Detective
Fit for a King
1937
as Otto
Goodbye, My Fancy
1951
as Professor Dingley
Roughly Speaking
1945
as Svend Olsen
The Chaser
1938
as Lars
Angels Over Broadway
1940
as Charles Engle
The Big Steal
1949
as Julius Seton
Upperworld
1934
as Janitor
Street Scene
1931
as Karl Olsen (as John M. Qualen)
Johnny Concho
1956
as Jake
The Farmer Takes a Wife
1935
as Sol Tinker
Frasier, the Sensuous Lion
1973
as Old Man on Porch
Let Us Live
1939
as Dan (uncredited)
Meet Nero Wolfe
1936
as Olaf
One More Spring
1935
as Auctioneer
The Country Doctor
1936
as Asa Wyatt
Song of Scheherazade
1947
as Lorenzo
I, the Jury
1953
as Dr. R.H. Vickers, Veterinarian
The Strange Case of Dr. Meade
1938
as Stoner
Stand Up and Fight
1939
as Davy
Counsellor at Law
1933
as Breitstein
Hail, Hero!
1969
as Billy Hurd
On Their Own
1940
as Peters
Man on a Bus
1955
as Second Prisoner
My Girl Tisa
1948
as Svenson
My World Dies Screaming
1958
as Jonah Snell
Mickey the Kid
1939
as Mailman
Babies for Sale
1940
as Howard Anderson
Sing and Like It
1934
as Oswald (as John M. Qualen)
Let's Fall in Love
1933
as Bjorkman / Svente Bjorkman
Alias a Gentleman
1948
as No End
The Bad Man of Brimstone
1937
as Loco
High Conquest
1947
as Peter Oberwalder Sr.
The Three Musketeers
1935
as Planchet
The Other Woman
1954
as Papasha
About John Qualen
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… With 178 credits spanning from 1931 to 1993, John Qualen has appeared in 135 films and 43 TV shows.
Fans searching for John Qualen movies, John Qualen filmography, or the latest projects starring John Qualen can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular John Qualen Movies
- Casablanca (1943) — as Berger
- The Searchers (1956) — as Lars Jorgensen
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) — as Peter Ericson
- Anatomy of a Murder (1959) — as Deputy Sheriff Sulo Kangas
- The Grapes of Wrath (1940) — as Muley Graves
Where to Watch John Qualen Films
Most John Qualen movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring John Qualen, check our movies catalogue and browse page.