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 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.
Filmography · 179
The Andy Griffith Show
1960 · Henry Bennett
Dragnet
1951
Bonanza
1959 · Parley
The Donna Reed Show
1958 · Zeke
Maverick
1957
Father Knows Best
1954 · Old Man
The Virginian
1962 · Gosta Swenson
Cheyenne
1955
Dr. Kildare
1961 · Mr. Callahan
Lawman
1958 · Doc Shea
Climax!
1954 · Geist
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948 · Gus Gruntle
Burke's Law
1963 · Richard Prince (uncred...
Thriller
1960 · Streetcar Conductor
Green Acres
1965 · Mr. Appleby
Ben Casey
1961
Mister Ed
1961
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955 · Mr. Stepp
The Odd Couple
1970 · Groundskeeper
Hazel
1961 · Mr. Johansson
Sugarfoot
1957 · Jens Jensen
The Millionaire
1955 · Harry Stonewall Jackso...
Casablanca
1943 · Berger
The Streets of San Francisco
1972 · Frank Casey
The Real McCoys
1957 · Frank
The Partridge Family
1970 · The Old Man
Sea Hunt
1958
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
December Bride
1954
Bronco
1958
My Favorite Martian
1963 · Matt
The Searchers
1956 · Lars Jorgensen
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
1960
Racket Squad
1951
The Third Man
1959
Public Defender
1954 · Ames
Yancy Derringer
1958 · Capt. Sven Larsen
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
1966 · Dr. Elmer Spritzer
The Alaskans
1959
Tightrope
1959
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962 · Peter Ericson
Anatomy of a Murder
1959 · Deputy Sheriff Sulo Ka...
Jericho
1966
Shane
1966 · Old Man
The Grapes of Wrath
1940 · Muley Graves
His Girl Friday
1940 · Earl Williams
The High and the Mighty
1954 · Jose Locota
Tate
1960 · Sam
North to Alaska
1960 · Logger
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965 · Charlie Biller
No Time for Sergeants
1964
Donovan's Reef
1963 · Deckhand Who Cries 'Ma...
Elmer Gantry
1960 · Sam - Storekeeper
Knute Rockne All American
1940 · Lars Knutson Rockne
General Electric Theater
1953
Jungle Book
1942 · The Barber
Cheyenne Autumn
1964 · Svenson (uncredited)
The Prize
1963 · Oscar
Hans Christian Andersen
1952 · Burgomaster
Two Rode Together
1961 · Ole Knudsen
Those Calloways
1964 · Ernie Evans
A Patch of Blue
1965 · Mr. Faber
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · Pop Bradshaw
Firecreek
1968 · Hall
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
1966 · Jesse Buford
Counsellor at Law
1933 · Breitstein
Passion
1954 · Gaspar Melo
The Shepherd of the Hills
1941 · Coot Royal
Wife vs. Secretary
1936 · Mr. Jenkins (uncredite...
La Classe américaine
1993 · V12 (archive footage)...
The Long Voyage Home
1940 · Axel
I'll Take Sweden
1965 · Olaf
Hi, Nellie!
1934 · Steve (uncredited)
Arabian Nights
1942 · Aladdin
Hell Bent for Leather
1960 · Old Ben
I, the Jury
1953 · Dr. R.H. Vickers, Vete...
Nothing Sacred
1937 · Fireman (uncredited)
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
1964 · Luther Lindquist
The Sea Chase
1955 · Chief Engineer Schmitt
Our Daily Bread
1934 · Chris (as John T. Qual...
Buccaneer's Girl
1950 · Vegetable Seller
Breakdowns of 1942
1942 · Self
Goodbye, My Fancy
1951 · Professor Dingley
P.J.
1968 · Poppa
Girls' Dormitory
1936 · Toni
The Fugitive
1947 · A Refugee Doctor
Doc
1969 · Luke
All That Money Can Buy
1941 · Miser Stevens
Captain Kidd
1945 · Bart Blivens
Larceny, Inc.
1942 · Sam Bachrach
Ambush at Tomahawk Gap
1953 · Jonas P. Travis
At Gunpoint
1955 · Livingstone
The Mad Miss Manton
1938 · Night Watchman at Subw...
The Big Land
1957 · Sven Johnson
The Bad Man of Brimstone
1937 · Loco
Adventure
1945 · Model T
Model Wife
1941 · The Janitor
Five of a Kind
1938 · Asa Wyatt
Charlie Chan in Paris
1935 · Concierge, Dufresne's...
Hollow Triumph
1948 · Swangron
The Gun Runners
1958 · Pop
Let Us Live
1939 · Dan (uncredited)
Tortilla Flat
1942 · Jose Maria Corcoran
Ring Around the Moon
1936 · Bill Harvey
Seventh Heaven
1937 · Sewer Rat
Black Fury
1935 · Mike Shemanski
Babies for Sale
1940 · Howard Anderson
Hail, Hero!
1969 · Billy Hurd
An American Romance
1944 · Anton Dubechek
Woman on the Run
1950 · Maibus
The Big Steal
1949 · Julius Seton
My Girl Tisa
1948 · Svenson
The Jackpot
1950 · Mr. Ferguson (uncredit...
The Country Doctor
1936 · Asa Wyatt
Let's Fall in Love
1933 · Bjorkman
The Farmer Takes a Wife
1935 · Sol Tinker
Honeymoon in Bali
1939 · Meek Man (uncredited)
Stand Up and Fight
1939 · Davy
Song of Scheherazade
1947 · Lorenzo
Reaching from Heaven
1948 · The Stranger
Fit for a King
1937 · Otto
Dark Waters
1944 · Uncle Norbert
Captain China
1950 · Geech
Revolt in the Big House
1958 · Doc
Blondie on a Budget
1940 · Ed Fuddle
Johnny Concho
1956 · Jake
The Three Musketeers
1935 · Planchet
Getting Away from It All
1972 · Charlie Erickson
Joy of Living
1938 · Oswego
Swing Shift Maisie
1943 · Horatio Curley
Frasier, the Sensuous Lion
1973 · Old Man on Porch
Four Wives
1939 · Frank
Million Dollar Baby
1941 · Dr. Patterson
The Flying Missile
1950 · Lars Hansen
Meet Nero Wolfe
1936 · Olaf
The Road to Glory
1936 · Duflous
Arrowsmith
1931 · Henry Novak (uncredite...
One More Spring
1935 · Auctioneer
The Strange Case of Dr. Meade
1938 · Stoner
The Chaser
1938 · Lars
The Great Hotel Murder
1935 · Ole
My World Dies Screaming
1958 · Jonah Snell
Out of the Fog
1941 · Olaf Johnson
River Gang
1945 · Uncle Bill
Street Scene
1931 · Karl Olsen (as John M....
Youth Will Be Served
1940 · Clem Howie
He Was Her Man
1934 · Dutch, Santa Avila's C...
The Impostor
1944 · Monge
Roughly Speaking
1945 · Svend Olsen
Fifty Roads to Town
1937 · Sheriff Dow
Man of Iron
1935 · Collins
Sing and Like It
1934 · Oswald (as John M. Qua...
Alias a Gentleman
1948 · No End
Upperworld
1934 · Janitor
Unchained
1955 · Leonard Haskins
High Conquest
1947 · Peter Oberwalder Sr.
Angels Over Broadway
1940 · Charles Engle
Angel's Holiday
1937 · Waldo Everett
Chasing Yesterday
1935 · Coccoz
Whipsaw
1935 · Will Dabson
Man on a Bus
1955 · Second Prisoner
On Their Own
1940 · Peters
Doubting Thomas
1935 · Von Blitzen
Reunion
1936 · Asa Wyatt
Silk Hat Kid
1935 · Mr. Fossbender
16 Fathoms Deep
1948 · Capt. Athos
365 Nights in Hollywood
1934 · Prof. Herman Ellenboge...
Ski Patrol
1940 · Gustaf
Thunder in the Night
1935 · Hotel Porter
Thunder Afloat
1939 · Milo
She Had to Eat
1937 · Sleepy
Servants' Entrance
1934 · Detective
Orchids to You
1935 · Smith
Straight Is the Way
1934 · Mr. Clapman (uncredite...
Saturday's Children
1940 · First Carpenter (uncre...
New Wine
1941 · Hasslinger's Clerk
Mickey the Kid
1939 · Mailman
Belle Le Grand
1951 · Corky McGee
The Other Woman
1954 · Papasha