Of Swedish descent, burly, light-haired character actor Karl Swenson was born in Brooklyn and started his four-decade career on radio. Throughout the late 30s and 40s, his voice could be heard all over the airwaves, appearing in scores of daytime serials ("Lorenzo Jones") and mystery dramas ("Inner Sanctum Mysteries"). He gave visual life to one of his serial characters, Walter Manning, in "Portia Faces Life" when it went to TV in 1953. It was during his lengthy work in this medium that he met his wife, stage and radio actress Joan Tompkins. They appeared together throughout their careers on TV and in a few films. In the 1950s, he kept afloat on TV in rugged guest spots (Stationsarzt Dr. Kildare (1961), Rauchende Colts (1955), Maverick (1957), Kobra, übernehmen Sie (1966) and Hawaii Fünf-Null (1968)). He didn't appear in films until age 50+ with minor roles in Rivalen (1958), Land der 1000 Abenteuer (1960), Die Vögel (1963) and Die vier Söhne der Katie Elder (1965). His voice was also well utilized in such animated features as Die Hexe und der Zauberer (1963) as the voice of Merlin. Karl met actor Michael Landon on the set of Bonanza (1959), appearing in four separate episodes over time. Landon remembered him when he began to film Unsere kleine Farm (1974). Cast in the recurring role of lumber mill owner Lars Hanson, he remained with the show until his death in 1978 of a heart attack. His character on the show also died. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]
