Moroni Olsen

Overview

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.

Known for

Acting
1954	Sign of the Pagan	Actor	Pope Leo I	58 Average
1954	The Long, Long Trailer	Actor	Mr. Tewitt	59 Average
1953	Marry Me Again	Actor	Mr. Courtney	N/A N/A
1953	So This Is Love	Actor	Arnold Reuben	59 Average
1952	Lone Star	Actor	Sam Houston	58 Average
1952	Washington Story	Actor	Speaker Of The House	59 Average
1952	At Sword's Point	Actor	Porthos	58 Average
1951	Submarine Command	Actor	Rear Adm. Joshua Rice	58 Average
1951	No Questions Asked	Actor	Henry Manston	59 Average
1951	Father's Little Dividend	Actor	Herbert Dunstan	59 Average
1951	Payment on Demand	Actor	Mr. Barton	59 Average
1950	Father of the Bride	Actor	Herbert Dunstan	62 Fair
1949	Samson and Delilah	Actor	Targil	60 Fair
1949	Task Force	Actor	Adm. Ames	59 Average
1949	The Fountainhead	Actor	Chairman	61 Fair
1948	Command Decision	Actor	Congressman Stone	59 Average
1948	Up in Central Park	Actor	Big Jim Fitts	59 Average
1948	Call Northside 777	Actor	Parole Board Chairman	60 Fair
1947	High Wall	Actor	Dr. Philip Dunlap	59 Average
1947	That Hagen Girl	Actor	Trenton Gateley	58 Average
1947	Black Gold	Actor	Don Toland	59 Average
1947	Life with Father	Actor	Dr. Humphries	59 Average
1947	Possessed	Actor	Dr. Ames - Mrs. Smith's psychiatrist	60 Fair
1947	The Long Night	Actor	Chief of Police Bob McManus	58 Average
1946	It's a Wonderful Life	Actor	Senior Angel (voice) (uncredited)	80 Very good
1946	The Strange Woman	Actor	Rev. Thatcher	59 Average
1946	Notorious	Actor	Walter Beardsley	72 Good
1946	Boys' Ranch	Actor	Judge Henderson	59 Average
1946	The Walls Came Tumbling Down	Actor	Bishop Martin	59 Average
1946	From This Day Forward	Actor	Tim Bagley	58 Average
1945	Mildred Pierce	Actor	Inspector Peterson	66 Fair
1945	Don't Fence Me In	Actor	Henry Bennett	59 Average
1945	Week-End at the Waldorf	Actor	House Detective	59 Average
1945	Pride of the Marines	Actor	Capt. Burroughs	59 Average
1944	Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo	Actor	General (uncredited)	59 Average
1944	Roger Touhy, Gangster	Actor	Riley	59 Average
1944	Cobra Woman	Actor	MacDonald	58 Average
1944	Buffalo Bill	Actor	Sen. Frederici	58 Average
1944	Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves	Actor	Caliph Hassan	59 Average
1943	Madame Curie	Actor	President of Businessman's Board (uncredited)	59 Average
1943	We've Never Been Licked	Actor	Commandant	58 Average
1943	Mission to Moscow	Actor	Col. Faymonville	58 Average
1943	Air Force	Actor	Col. Blake	59 Average
1942	Reunion in France	Actor	Paul Grebeau	59 Average
1942	Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch	Actor	Dr. Henry Olcott	N/A N/A
1942	The Glass Key	Actor	Ralph Henry	60 Fair
1942	My Favorite Spy	Actor	Major Allen	59 Average
1942	Sundown Jim	Actor	Andrew Barr	N/A N/A
1942	Nazi Agent	Actor	Brenner	59 Average
1941	Dangerously They Live	Actor	Mr. John Goodwin	59 Average
1941	One Foot in Heaven	Actor	Dr. John Romer	59 Average
1941	Three Sons o' Guns	Actor	Philip G. Talbot	59 Average
1941	Life with Henry	Actor	Sylvanus Q. Sattherwaite	59 Average
1941	Respect the Law	Actor	Dr. Walter Terriss	N/A N/A
1941	Dive Bomber	Actor	Senior Surgeon at San Diego	59 Average
1940	Santa Fe Trail	Actor	Robert E. Lee	58 Average
1940	East of the River	Actor	Judge R.D. Davis	59 Average
1940	Brigham Young	Actor	Doc Richards	58 Average
1940	If I Had My Way	Actor	Mr. Blair	59 Average
1940	Virginia City	Actor	Cameron	59 Average
1940	Brother Rat and a Baby	Actor	Major Terry	58 Average
1939	Invisible Stripes	Actor	The Warden	59 Average
1939	Barricade	Actor	Managing Editor	59 Average
1939	That's Right – You're Wrong	Actor	Jonathan Forbes	59 Average
1939	Allegheny Uprising	Actor	Tom Calhoon	59 Average
1939	Dust Be My Destiny	Actor	Slim Jones	59 Average
1939	The Bill of Rights	Actor	Royal Governor Dunmore	59 Average
1939	Susannah of the Mounties	Actor	Supt. Andrew Standing	59 Average
1939	Code of the Secret Service	Actor	The friar	58 Average
1939	Rose of Washington Square	Actor	Buck Russell	59 Average
1939	The Three Musketeers	Actor	Bailiff	59 Average
1939	Off the Record	Actor	Juvenal Court Judge	59 Average
1939	Homicide Bureau	Actor	Captain Haines	59 Average
1938	Kentucky	Actor	John Dillon - 1938	59 Average
1938	Submarine Patrol	Actor	The Fleet Captain	59 Average
1938	There Goes My Heart	Actor	Fisherman (uncredited)	59 Average
1938	That Certain Age	Actor	Fullerton's Associate (uncredited)	58 Average
1938	Marie Antoinette	Actor	Bearded Leader of the People (uncredited)	59 Average
1938	What Do You Think? Tupapaoo	Actor	Kurt Larsen	59 Average
1938	Kidnapped	Actor	Douglas	59 Average
1938	Gold Is Where You Find It	Actor	Senator Hearst	59 Average
1937	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	Actor	Magic Mirror (voice) (uncredited)	70 Good
1937	Adventure's End	Actor	First Mate Rand Husk	59 Average
1937	The Last Gangster	Actor	Detective Danny Shea (uncredited)	59 Average
1937	The Soldier and the Lady	Actor	Tartar Chief (Voice) (Uncredited)	59 Average
1936	The Plough and the Stars	Actor	General Connally	58 Average
1936	Mummy's Boys	Actor	Dr. Edward Sterling	58 Average
1936	Grand Jury	Actor	Davis, the bodyguard	59 Average
1936	Mary of Scotland	Actor	John Knox	59 Average
1936	M'Liss	Actor	Jake	59 Average
1936	The Witness Chair	Actor	Lt. Poole	59 Average
1936	Two in Revolt	Actor	Cyrus Benton	59 Average
1936	The Farmer in the Dell	Actor	Chester Hart	N/A N/A
1936	Yellow Dust	Actor	Missouri	58 Average
1935	We're Only Human	Actor	R.J. Curran	59 Average
1935	Seven Keys to Baldpate	Actor	Mayor Jim Cargen	59 Average
1935	Annie Oakley	Actor	Col. William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody	59 Average
1935	The Three Musketeers	Actor	Porthos	59 Average

About

Moroni Olsen

Overview

Known for

Acting