John Qualen
1899-12-06 ( 125 years old ) in 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.

Movies

La Classe américaine 1993-12-31
Frasier, the Sensuous Lion 1973-06-19
Getting Away from It All 1972-01-18
Hail, Hero! 1969-10-04
Doc 1969-07-28
P.J. 1968-03-27
Firecreek 1968-01-24
A Big Hand for the Little Lady 1966-06-08
A Patch of Blue 1965-12-10
The Sons of Katie Elder 1965-06-23
I'll Take Sweden 1965-06-18
Those Calloways 1965-01-28
Cheyenne Autumn 1964-10-15
7 Faces of Dr. Lao 1964-03-18
The Prize 1963-12-25
Donovan's Reef 1963-06-12
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962-04-13
Two Rode Together 1961-05-24
North to Alaska 1960-11-07
Elmer Gantry 1960-07-07
Hell Bent for Leather 1960-02-01
Anatomy of a Murder 1959-07-01
Revolt in the Big House 1958-12-21
My World Dies Screaming 1958-08-20
The Gun Runners 1958-08-01
The Big Land 1957-03-01
Johnny Concho 1956-07-01
The Searchers 1956-05-16
At Gunpoint 1955-12-25
Unchained 1955-08-25
The Sea Chase 1955-06-04
Man on a Bus 1955-05-01
The Other Woman 1954-12-02
Passion 1954-10-06
The High and the Mighty 1954-07-03
I, the Jury 1953-08-14
Ambush at Tomahawk Gap 1953-05-01
Hans Christian Andersen 1952-12-19
Goodbye, My Fancy 1951-05-19
Belle Le Grand 1951-01-27
The Flying Missile 1950-12-24
Woman on the Run 1950-11-10
The Jackpot 1950-11-01
Buccaneer's Girl 1950-03-01
Captain China 1950-02-02
The Big Steal 1949-07-01
Hollow Triumph 1948-08-18
16 Fathoms Deep 1948-07-25
My Girl Tisa 1948-02-07
Alias a Gentleman 1948-02-03
Reaching from Heaven 1948-02-01
The Fugitive 1947-11-11
High Conquest 1947-06-21
Song of Scheherazade 1947-02-26
Adventure 1945-12-28
Captain Kidd 1945-11-22
River Gang 1945-09-21
Roughly Speaking 1945-01-31
Dark Waters 1944-11-21
An American Romance 1944-04-16
The Impostor 1944-02-10
Swing Shift Maisie 1943-10-01
Casablanca 1943-01-15
Breakdowns of 1942 1942-12-31
Arabian Nights 1942-12-25
Tortilla Flat 1942-05-21
Larceny, Inc. 1942-04-24
Jungle Book 1942-04-03
All That Money Can Buy 1941-10-17
New Wine 1941-09-10
The Shepherd of the Hills 1941-07-18
Out of the Fog 1941-06-14
Million Dollar Baby 1941-05-31
Model Wife 1941-04-17
Youth Will Be Served 1940-11-22
The Long Voyage Home 1940-11-16
Knute Rockne All American 1940-10-05
Angels Over Broadway 1940-10-02
Babies for Sale 1940-06-14
On Their Own 1940-05-17
Ski Patrol 1940-05-09
Saturday's Children 1940-05-04
The Grapes of Wrath 1940-03-15
Blondie on a Budget 1940-02-29
His Girl Friday 1940-01-18
Four Wives 1939-12-22
Honeymoon in Bali 1939-09-29
Thunder Afloat 1939-09-15
Mickey the Kid 1939-07-03
Let Us Live 1939-03-29
Stand Up and Fight 1939-01-06
The Strange Case of Dr. Meade 1938-12-15
The Mad Miss Manton 1938-10-21
Five of a Kind 1938-10-14
The Chaser 1938-07-29
Joy of Living 1938-05-06
The Bad Man of Brimstone 1937-12-31
Nothing Sacred 1937-11-25
Fit for a King 1937-09-01
She Had to Eat 1937-07-02
Angel's Holiday 1937-06-07
Fifty Roads to Town 1937-06-03
Seventh Heaven 1937-03-25
Reunion 1936-11-20
The Road to Glory 1936-09-04
Girls Dormitory 1936-08-08
Meet Nero Wolfe 1936-07-16
The Country Doctor 1936-03-12
Wife vs. Secretary 1936-02-28
Ring Around the Moon 1936-02-15
Man of Iron 1935-12-21
Whipsaw 1935-12-18
The Three Musketeers 1935-11-01
Thunder in the Night 1935-09-16
Orchids to You 1935-08-09
Silk Hat Kid 1935-07-19
Doubting Thomas 1935-07-10
The Farmer Takes a Wife 1935-07-05
Black Fury 1935-05-18
Chasing Yesterday 1935-05-03
The Great Hotel Murder 1935-02-27
One More Spring 1935-02-15
Charlie Chan in Paris 1935-01-21
365 Nights in Hollywood 1934-12-11
Our Daily Bread 1934-10-02
Servants' Entrance 1934-09-25
Straight Is the Way 1934-08-10
He Was Her Man 1934-06-16
Upperworld 1934-04-28
Sing and Like It 1934-04-20
Hi, Nellie! 1934-01-20
Let's Fall in Love 1933-12-26
Let's Fall in Love 1933-12-26
Counsellor at Law 1933-12-25
Arrowsmith 1931-12-07
Street Scene 1931-09-05

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