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John M. Qualen, John T. Qualen, Johan Mandt Kvalen
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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.
Info
- wc Gender: Male
- calendar_month Birth Date: 1899-12-06
- event Death Date 1987-09-12
- school Known for: Acting
- star Popularity: 4.6
- info Birth Place Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- visibility Views: 4 views
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star User Ratings:
image Images
smart_display Movies and TV shows by John Qualen
8.2
Casablanca
1943-01-15
7.9
The Grapes of Wrath
1940-03-15
7.4
His Girl Friday
1940-01-18
7.7
The Searchers
1956-05-16
1
Youth Will Be Served
1940-11-22
0
My Girl Tisa
1948-02-07
6
Blondie on a Budget
1940-02-29
6.6
North to Alaska
1960-11-07
6.3
Jungle Book
1942-04-03
7.8
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962-04-13
6.5
Hollow Triumph
1948-08-18
6.4
Out of the Fog
1941-06-14
7.6
A Patch of Blue
1965-12-10
6.6
Charlie Chan in Paris
1935-01-21
5
The Strange Case of Dr. Meade
1938-12-15
6.8
Woman on the Run
1950-11-10
6.9
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
1964-03-18
5.8
Dark Waters
1944-11-21
7
All That Money Can Buy
1941-10-17
5.9
Angels Over Broadway
1940-10-02
6.2
Those Calloways
1965-01-28
5.9
Arabian Nights
1942-12-25
7.1
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
1966-06-08
6.6
The Shepherd of the Hills
1941-07-18
6
The Fugitive
1947-11-11
5.7
I, the Jury
1953-08-14
6
Knute Rockne All American
1940-10-05
6.7
Cheyenne Autumn
1964-10-15
6.2
Adventure
1945-12-28
7.1
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965-06-23
6.3
Hans Christian Andersen
1952-12-19
5.9
The High and the Mighty
1954-07-03
7
Larceny, Inc.
1942-04-24
6.5
The Big Steal
1949-07-01
6.2
Revolt in the Big House
1958-12-21
6.6
The Long Voyage Home
1940-11-16
5.5
The Other Woman
1954-12-02
6
The Gun Runners
1958-08-01
6.9
The Jackpot
1950-11-01
6
The Impostor
1944-02-10
5.8
My World Dies Screaming
1958-08-20
6.4
Black Fury
1935-05-18
5.5
Angel's Holiday
1937-06-07
6
Million Dollar Baby
1941-05-31
6.5
Swing Shift Maisie
1943-10-01
5.4
Tortilla Flat
1942-05-21
5.9
Thunder Afloat
1939-09-15
6.4
Firecreek
1968-01-24
6.2
Honeymoon in Bali
1939-09-29
5.7
One More Spring
1935-02-15
5.2
Passion
1954-10-06
6.8
Our Daily Bread
1934-10-02
5.2
P.J.
1968-03-27
5.9
Goodbye, My Fancy
1951-05-19
5.8
Stand Up and Fight
1939-01-06
6.8
Roughly Speaking
1945-01-31
5.9
An American Romance
1944-04-16
0
Orchids to You
1935-08-09
5.9
Girls Dormitory
1936-08-08
6.5
Arrowsmith
1931-12-07
6.5
Meet Nero Wolfe
1936-07-16
6.8
He Was Her Man
1934-06-16
6.6
Seventh Heaven
1937-03-25
6.1
The Farmer Takes a Wife
1935-07-05
4.3
Sing and Like It
1934-04-20
4.2
Five of a Kind
1938-10-14
6
Captain Kidd
1945-11-22
6
Hail, Hero!
1969-10-04
5.4
The Flying Missile
1950-12-24
5
Fit for a King
1937-09-01
7.5
Let's Fall in Love
1933-12-26
3.5
Chasing Yesterday
1935-05-03
3.7
Ski Patrol
1940-05-09
6.4
The Mad Miss Manton
1938-10-21
6.6
Counsellor at Law
1933-12-25
5.8
Song of Scheherazade
1947-02-26
6.3
Upperworld
1934-04-28
0
365 Nights in Hollywood
1934-12-11
6.2
The Big Land
1957-03-01
6
The Country Doctor
1936-03-12
6
The Bad Man of Brimstone
1937-12-31
4
Man on a Bus
1955-05-01
6.5
Alias a Gentleman
1948-02-03
0
Reunion
1936-11-20
6.8
Street Scene
1931-09-05
5
Captain China
1950-02-02
7.5
Let's Fall in Love
1933-12-26
6.5
Hi, Nellie!
1934-01-20
6.4
Two Rode Together
1961-05-24
6.1
The Sea Chase
1955-06-04
5.1
Four Wives
1939-12-22
6.8
Let Us Live
1939-03-29
6.3
The Road to Glory
1936-09-04
3.7
Johnny Concho
1956-07-01
6
Man of Iron
1935-12-21
0
On Their Own
1940-05-17
6.3
Donovan's Reef
1963-06-12
5.5
Thunder in the Night
1935-09-16
7.9
Anatomy of a Murder
1959-07-01
0
Reaching from Heaven
1948-02-01
5.5
Babies for Sale
1940-06-14
0
Unchained
1955-08-25
6.5
Ambush at Tomahawk Gap
1953-05-01
3
Ring Around the Moon
1936-02-15
6.8
Wife vs. Secretary
1936-02-28
4.5
16 Fathoms Deep
1948-07-25
6.4
The Three Musketeers
1935-11-01
6.4
Saturday's Children
1940-05-04
6.2
Nothing Sacred
1937-11-25
6.2
Hell Bent for Leather
1960-02-01
6.2
Whipsaw
1935-12-18
7
Doubting Thomas
1935-07-10
3
Belle Le Grand
1951-01-27
5
I'll Take Sweden
1965-06-18
5.5
Straight Is the Way
1934-08-10
0
Model Wife
1941-04-17
6.8
The Prize
1963-12-25
5.6
Buccaneer's Girl
1950-03-01
0
New Wine
1941-09-10
7.2
Elmer Gantry
1960-07-07
0
Fifty Roads to Town
1937-06-03
6
The Chaser
1938-07-29
5
She Had to Eat
1937-07-02
6
Silk Hat Kid
1935-07-19
0
River Gang
1945-09-21
5.7
Joy of Living
1938-05-06
0
High Conquest
1947-06-21
6
The Great Hotel Murder
1935-02-27
7.7
La Classe américaine
1993-12-31
6.4
At Gunpoint
1955-12-25
0
Mickey the Kid
1939-07-03
0
Servants' Entrance
1934-09-25
6
Breakdowns of 1942
1942-12-31
0
Doc
1969-07-28
0
Getting Away from It All
1972-01-18
6.7
Mister Ed
1961-01-05
7.6
The Andy Griffith Show
1960-10-03
6
Burke's Law
1963-09-20
5.8
Cheyenne
1955-09-20
5.5
December Bride
1954-10-04
6.6
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
1966-09-13
7.8
The Odd Couple
1970-09-24
6.4
Dragnet
1951-12-16
6
General Electric Theater
1953-02-01
6.6
Sea Hunt
1958-01-04
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
5.3
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958-10-06
5
The Millionaire
1955-01-19
6.4
The Virginian
1962-09-19
6.3
Thriller
1960-09-13
5.6
Yancy Derringer
1958-10-02
7
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951-10-05
6
Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02
3
Climax!
1954-10-07
4.8
Bronco
1958-09-23
6.1
The Donna Reed Show
1958-09-24
6
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948-10-03
5.5
The Alaskans
1959-10-04
4.8
Sugarfoot
1957-09-17
5.6
Ben Casey
1961-10-02
6
Racket Squad
1951-06-07
5.5
Tightrope
1959-09-08
5.3
Dr. Kildare
1961-09-27
6
Shane
1966-09-10
6.5
Jericho
1966-09-15
6.7
The Third Man
1959-10-02
1
No Time for Sergeants
1964-09-14
6.8
Maverick
1957-09-22
6.2
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
1960-09-19
6.8
Maverick
1957-09-22
4.5
Tate
1960-06-08
7
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951-10-05
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
6.7
Mister Ed
1961-01-05
7.1
The Streets of San Francisco
1972-09-23
6
Public Defender
1954-03-11
7.8
The Odd Couple
1970-09-24
7.8
The Odd Couple
1970-09-24
6.7
The Partridge Family
1970-09-25
6
My Favorite Martian
1963-09-29
7.3
Green Acres
1965-09-15
7.3
Green Acres
1965-09-15
6.6
Father Knows Best
1954-10-03