

Acting
Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Swenson is remembered for his role as the doomsayer in the diner in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) and as the voice of Merlin in Disney's The Sword in the Stone (1963). On television, he had numerous credits in guest roles on various shows, especially Westerns, including episodes of Bonanza, The Virginian, and Gunsmoke. He had a major recurring role as Walnut Grove founder Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie (1974 - 1978). Swenson also had roles in The Prize (1963), Major...
Highest rated appearances

Disney's Greatest Villains
as Merlin (voice) (archive footage)

The Gun and the Pulpit
as Adams

Ulzana's Raid
as Rukeyser

The New Healers
as Mr. Fisherman

A Howling in the Woods
as Apperson

Vanishing Point
as Clerk

The Wild Country
as Jensen

… tick… tick… tick…
as Frank Braddock Sr.

Hour of the Gun
as Dr. Charles Goodfellow

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
as Dr. Keller

Brighty of the Grand Canyon
as Theodore Roosevelt

Seconds
as Dr. Morris

The Cincinnati Kid
as Mr. Rudd

The Sons of Katie Elder
as Doc Isdell

Major Dundee
as Captain Waller

The Prize
as Hilding

The Sword in the Stone
as Merlin (voice)

The Man from Galveston
as Sheriff

The Birds
as Le prophète de malheur ivre au bar

How the West Was Won
as Train Conductor (uncredited)

The Spiral Road
as Insp. Bevers

Lonely are the Brave
as Rev. Hoskins

Walk on the Wild Side
as Schmidt

Judgment at Nuremberg
as Heinrich Geuter

Flaming Star
as Dred Pierce

North to Alaska
as Lars Nordqvist

One Foot in Hell
as Sheriff Ole Olson

The Gallant Hours
as Bill Bailey

Ice Palace
as Scotty Ballantyne