John Qualen
134 movies · 45 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Dec 6, 1899
- Died
- Sep 12, 1987 (age 87)
- 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.
Read the full biography
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.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
John Qualen: movies and TV shows
Acting (179)
- 1993 La Classe américaine
as V12 (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1973 Frasier, the Sensuous Lion
as Old Man on Porch
- 1972
- 1972 Getting Away from It All
as Charlie Erickson
- 1970
- 1970
- 1969 Hail, Hero!
as Billy Hurd
- 1969 Doc
as Luke
- 1968 P.J.
as Poppa
- 1968 Firecreek
as Hall
- 1966
- 1966
- 1966
- 1966 A Big Hand for the Little Lady
as Jesse Buford
- 1965 A Patch of Blue
as Mr. Faber
- 1965
- 1965 The Sons of Katie Elder
as Charlie Biller
- 1965 I'll Take Sweden
as Olaf
- 1964 Those Calloways
as Ernie Evans
- 1964 Cheyenne Autumn
as Svenson (uncredited)
- 1964
- 1964 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
as Luther Lindquist
- 1963 The Prize
as Oscar
- 1963
- 1963
- 1963 Donovan's Reef
as Deckhand Who Cries 'Man Overboard' (uncredited)
- 1962
- 1962 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
as Peter Ericson
- 1961
- 1961
- 1961
- 1961 Two Rode Together
as Ole Knudsen
- 1961
- 1960 North to Alaska
as Logger
- 1960
- 1960
- 1960
- 1960 Elmer Gantry
as Sam - Storekeeper
- 1960
- 1960 Hell Bent for Leather
as Old Ben
- 1959
- 1959
- 1959
- 1959
- 1959 Anatomy of a Murder
as Deputy Sheriff Sulo
- 1958 Revolt in the Big House
as Doc
- 1958
- 1958
- 1958
- 1958
- 1958
- 1958 My World Dies Screaming
as Jonah Snell
- 1958 The Gun Runners
as Pop
- 1958
- 1957
- 1957
- 1957
- 1957 The Big Land
as Sven Johnson
- 1956 Johnny Concho
as Jake
- 1956 The Searchers
as Lars Jorgensen
- 1955 At Gunpoint
as Livingstone
- 1955
- 1955
- 1955 Unchained
as Leonard Haskins
- 1955 The Sea Chase
as Chief Engineer Schmitt
- 1955 Man on a Bus
as Second Prisoner
- 1955
- 1954 The Other Woman
as Papasha
- 1954
- 1954 Passion
as Gaspar Melo
- 1954
- 1954
- 1954 The High and the Mighty
as Jose Locota
- 1954
- 1953 I, the Jury
as Dr. R.H. Vickers, Veterinarian
- 1953 Ambush at Tomahawk Gap
as Jonas P. Travis
- 1953
- 1952 Hans Christian Andersen
as Burgomaster
- 1951
- 1951
- 1951
- 1951 Goodbye, My Fancy
as Professor Dingley
- 1951 Belle Le Grand
as Corky McGee
- 1950 The Flying Missile
as Lars Hansen
- 1950 Woman on the Run
as Maibus
- 1950 The Jackpot
as Mr. Ferguson (uncredited)
- 1950
- 1950 Buccaneer's Girl
as Vegetable Seller
- 1950 Captain China
as Geech
- 1949 The Big Steal
as Julius Seton
- 1948
- 1948 Hollow Triumph
as Dr. Swangron
- 1948 16 Fathoms Deep
as Capt. Athos
- 1948 My Girl Tisa
as Svenson
- 1948 Alias a Gentleman
as No End
- 1948 Reaching from Heaven
as The Stranger
- 1947 The Fugitive
as A Refugee Doctor
- 1947 High Conquest
as Peter Oberwalder Sr.
- 1947 Song of Scheherazade
as Lorenzo
- 1945 Adventure
as Model T
- 1945 Captain Kidd
as Bart Blivens
- 1945 River Gang
as Uncle Bill
- 1945 Roughly Speaking
as Svend Olsen
- 1944 Dark Waters
as Uncle Norbert
- 1944 An American Romance
as Anton Dubechek
- 1944 The Impostor
as Monge
- 1943 Swing Shift Maisie
as Horatio Curley
- 1943 Casablanca
as Berger
- 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 New Wine
as Hasslinger's Clerk
- 1941 The Shepherd of the Hills
as Coot Royal
- 1941 Out of the Fog
as Olaf Johnson
- 1941 Million Dollar Baby
as Dr. Patterson
- 1941 Model Wife
as The Janitor
- 1940 Youth Will Be Served
as Clem Howie
- 1940 The Long Voyage Home
as Axel
- 1940 Knute Rockne All American
as Lars Knutson Rockne
- 1940 Angels Over Broadway
as Charles Engle
- 1940 Babies for Sale
as Howard Anderson
- 1940 On Their Own
as Peters
- 1940 Ski Patrol
as Gustaf
- 1940 Saturday's Children
as First Carpenter (uncredited)
- 1940 The Grapes of Wrath
as Muley Graves
- 1940 Blondie on a Budget
as Ed Fuddle
- 1940 His Girl Friday
as Earl Williams
- 1939 Four Wives
as Frank
- 1939 Honeymoon in Bali
as Meek Man (uncredited)
- 1939 Thunder Afloat
as Milo
- 1939 Mickey the Kid
as Mailman
- 1939 Let Us Live
as Dan (uncredited)
- 1939 Stand Up and Fight
as Davy
- 1938 The Strange Case of Dr. Meade
as Stoner
- 1938 The Mad Miss Manton
as Night Watchman at Subway Construction Site
- 1938 Five of a Kind
as Asa Wyatt
- 1938 The Chaser
as Lars
- 1938 Joy of Living
as Oswego
- 1937 The Bad Man of Brimstone
as Loco
- 1937 Nothing Sacred
as Fireman (uncredited)
- 1937 Fit for a King
as Otto
- 1937 She Had to Eat
as Sleepy
- 1937 Angel's Holiday
as Waldo Everett
- 1937 Fifty Roads to Town
as Sheriff Dow
- 1937 Seventh Heaven
as Sewer Rat
- 1936 Reunion
as Asa Wyatt
- 1936 The Road to Glory
as Duflous
- 1936 Girls' Dormitory
as Toni
- 1936 Meet Nero Wolfe
as Olaf
- 1936 The Country Doctor
as Asa Wyatt
- 1936 Wife vs. Secretary
as Mr. Jenkins (uncredited)
- 1936 Ring Around the Moon
as Bill Harvey
- 1935 Man of Iron
as Collins
- 1935 Whipsaw
as Will Dabson
- 1935 The Three Musketeers
as Planchet
- 1935 Thunder in the Night
as Hotel Porter
- 1935 Orchids to You
as Smith
- 1935 Silk Hat Kid
as Mr. Fossbender
- 1935 Doubting Thomas
as Von Blitzen
- 1935 The Farmer Takes a Wife
as Sol Tinker
- 1935 Black Fury
as Mike Shemanski
- 1935 Chasing Yesterday
as Coccoz
- 1935 The Great Hotel Murder
as Ole
- 1935 One More Spring
as Auctioneer
- 1935 Charlie Chan in Paris
as Concierge, Dufresne's Hotel (bit)
- 1934 365 Nights in Hollywood
as Prof. Herman Ellenbogen
- 1934 Our Daily Bread
as Chris (as John T. Qualen)
- 1934 Servants' Entrance
as Detective
- 1934 Straight Is the Way
as Mr. Clapman (uncredited)
- 1934 He Was Her Man
as Dutch, Santa Avila's Cabbie
- 1934 Upperworld
as Janitor
- 1934 Sing and Like It
as Oswald (as John M. Qualen)
- 1934 Hi, Nellie!
as Steve (uncredited)
- 1933 Let's Fall in Love
as Bjorkman / Svente Bjorkman
- 1933 Counsellor at Law
as Breitstein
- 1931 Arrowsmith
as Henry Novak (uncredited)
- 1931 Street Scene
as Karl Olsen (as John M. Qualen)
Talk shows and appearances (1)
- 1942