Moroni Olsen

Birthday:

06/26/1889

Place of birth:

Ogden, Utah, USA:

Biography:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889 – November 22, 1954) was an American actor. Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah, to Mormon parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha Hoverholst, who named him after the Moroni found in the Book of Mormon. Some sources have claimed that Olsen's birth name was John Willard Clawson, but there appears to be no support for this claim. Olsen studied at Weber Stake Academy, the predecessor of Weber State University. He then went to study at the University of Utah, where one of his teachers was Maud May Babcock. During World War I, he sold war bonds for the United States Navy. He also studied and performed in the Eastern United States around this time. In 1923, Olsen organized the "Moroni Olsen Players" out of Ogden. They performed at both Ogden's Orpheum Theatre and at various other locations spread from Salt Lake City to Seattle. After having worked on Broadway, he made his film debut in a 1935 adaptation of The Three Musketeers. He later played a different role in a 1939 comedy version of the story, starring Don Ameche as D'Artagnan and the Ritz Brothers as three dimwitted lackeys who are forced to substitute for the musketeers, who have drunk themselves into a stupor. His most famous role was the voice of the Slave in The Magic Mirror in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Olsen also provided the voice of the senior angel in It's a Wonderful Life. Olsen was an active member of the LDS Church, being a teacher of youth in the Hoolwood Ward. He also was director of the Pilgramage Play of Hollywood for several years.



Credits

Sign of the Pagan (1954)
Pope Leo I
The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Mr. Tewitt
Marry Me Again (1953)
Mr. Courtney
So This Is Love (1953)
Arnold Reuben
Lone Star (1952)
Sam Houston
Washington Story (1952)
Speaker Of The House
At Sword's Point (1952)
Porthos
Submarine Command (1951)
Rear Adm. Joshua Rice
No Questions Asked (1951)
Henry Manston
Father's Little Dividend (1951)
Herbert Dunstan
Payment on Demand (1951)
Mr. Barton
Father of the Bride (1950)
Herbert Dunstan
Samson and Delilah (1949)
Targil
Task Force (1949)
Adm. Ames
The Fountainhead (1949)
Chairman
Command Decision (1948)
Congressman Stone
Up in Central Park (1948)
Big Jim Fitts
Call Northside 777 (1948)
Parole Board Chairman
High Wall (1947)
Dr. Philip Dunlap
That Hagen Girl (1947)
Trenton Gateley
Black Gold (1947)
Don Toland
Life with Father (1947)
Dr. Humphries
Possessed (1947)
Dr. Ames - Mrs. Smith's psychiatrist
The Long Night (1947)
Chief of Police Bob McManus
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Senior Angel (voice) (uncredited)
The Strange Woman (1946)
Rev. Thatcher
Notorious (1946)
Walter Beardsley
Boys' Ranch (1946)
Judge Henderson
The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1946)
Bishop Martin
From This Day Forward (1946)
Tim Bagley
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Inspector Peterson
Don't Fence Me In (1945)
Henry Bennett
Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
House Detective
Pride of the Marines (1945)
Capt. Burroughs
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
General (uncredited)
Roger Touhy, Gangster (1944)
Riley
Cobra Woman (1944)
MacDonald
Buffalo Bill (1944)
Sen. Frederici
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944)
Caliph Hassan
Madame Curie (1943)
President of Businessman's Board (uncredited)
We've Never Been Licked (1943)
Commandant
Mission to Moscow (1943)
Col. Faymonville
Air Force (1943)
Col. Blake
Reunion in France (1942)
Paul Grebeau
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1942)
Dr. Henry Olcott
The Glass Key (1942)
Ralph Henry
My Favorite Spy (1942)
Major Allen
Sundown Jim (1942)
Andrew Barr
Nazi Agent (1942)
Brenner
Dangerously They Live (1941)
Mr. John Goodwin
One Foot in Heaven (1941)
Dr. John Romer
Dive Bomber (1941)
Senior Surgeon at San Diego
Three Sons o' Guns (1941)
Philip G. Talbot
Life with Henry (1941)
Sylvanus Q. Sattherwaite
Respect the Law (1941)
Dr. Walter Terriss
Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Robert E. Lee
East of the River (1940)
Judge R.D. Davis
Brigham Young (1940)
Doc Richards
If I Had My Way (1940)
Mr. Blair
Virginia City (1940)
Cameron
Brother Rat and a Baby (1940)
Major Terry
Invisible Stripes (1939)
The Warden
Barricade (1939)
Managing Editor
That's Right - You're Wrong (1939)
Jonathan Forbes
Allegheny Uprising (1939)
Tom Calhoon
Dust Be My Destiny (1939)
Slim Jones
The Bill of Rights (1939)
Royal Governor Dunmore
Susannah of the Mounties (1939)
Supt. Andrew Standing
Code of the Secret Service (1939)
The friar
Rose of Washington Square (1939)
Buck Russell
The Three Musketeers (1939)
Bailiff
Off the Record (1939)
Juvenal Court Judge
Homicide Bureau (1939)
Captain Haines
Kentucky (1938)
John Dillon - 1938
Submarine Patrol (1938)
The Fleet Captain
There Goes My Heart (1938)
Fisherman (uncredited)
That Certain Age (1938)
Fullerton's Associate (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette (1938)
Bearded Leader of the People (uncredited)
What Do You Think? Tupapaoo (1938)
Kurt Larsen
Kidnapped (1938)
Douglas
Gold Is Where You Find It (1938)
Senator Hearst
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Magic Mirror (voice) (uncredited)
Adventure's End (1937)
First Mate Rand Husk
The Last Gangster (1937)
Detective Danny Shea (uncredited)
The Soldier and the Lady (1937)
Tartar Chief (Voice) (Uncredited)
The Plough and the Stars (1936)
General Connally
Mummy's Boys (1936)
Dr. Edward Sterling
Grand Jury (1936)
Davis, the bodyguard
Mary of Scotland (1936)
John Knox
M'Liss (1936)
Jake
The Witness Chair (1936)
Lt. Poole
Two in Revolt (1936)
Cyrus Benton
The Farmer in the Dell (1936)
Chester Hart
Yellow Dust (1936)
Missouri
We're Only Human (1935)
R.J. Curran
Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935)
Mayor Jim Cargen
Annie Oakley (1935)
Col. William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
The Three Musketeers (1935)
Porthos