Moroni Olsen
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1889-06-26
Day of Death
1954-11-22 (65 years old)
Place of Birth
Ogden, Utah, USA
Moroni Olsen
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.
Known For
Acting
(1954)
The Long, Long Trailer
as Mr. Tewitt
(1954)
Sign of the Pagan
as Pope Leo I
(1953)
Marry Me Again
as Mr. Courtney
(1953)
So This Is Love
as Arnold Reuben
(1952)
Lone Star
as Sam Houston
(1952)
Washington Story
as Speaker Of The House
(1952)
At Sword's Point
as Porthos
(1951)
Father's Little Dividend
as Herbert Dunstan
(1951)
Submarine Command
as Rear Adm. Joshua Rice
(1951)
Payment on Demand
as Mr. Barton
(1951)
No Questions Asked
as Henry Manston
(1950)
Father of the Bride
as Herbert Dunstan
(1949)
Samson and Delilah
as Targil
(1949)
The Fountainhead
as Chairman
(1949)
Task Force
as Adm. Ames
(1948)
Call Northside 777
as Parole Board Chairman
(1948)
Up in Central Park
as Big Jim Fitts
(1948)
Command Decision
as Congressman Stone
(1947)
Life with Father
as Dr. Humphries
(1947)
Possessed
as Dr. Ames
(1947)
High Wall
as Dr. Philip Dunlap
(1947)
Black Gold
as Don Toland
(1947)
The Long Night
as Chief of Police Bob McManus
(1947)
That Hagen Girl
as Trenton Gateley
(1946)
It's a Wonderful Life
as Senior Angel (voice) (uncredited)
(1946)
Notorious
as Walter Beardsley
(1946)
The Strange Woman
as Rev. Thatcher
(1946)
The Walls Came Tumbling Down
as Bishop Martin
(1946)
From This Day Forward
as Tim Bagley
(1946)
Boys' Ranch
as Judge Henderson
(1945)
Mildred Pierce
as Inspector Peterson
(1945)
Week-End at the Waldorf
as House Detective
(1945)
Pride of the Marines
as Capt. Burroughs
(1945)
Don't Fence Me In
as Henry Bennett
(1944)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
as General (uncredited)
(1944)
Buffalo Bill
as Sen. Frederici
(1944)
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
as Caliph Hassan
(1944)
Cobra Woman
as MacDonald
(1944)
Roger Touhy, Gangster
as Riley
(1943)
Madame Curie
as President of Businessman's Board (uncredited)
(1943)
Mission to Moscow
as Col. Faymonville
(1943)
Air Force
as Col. Blake
(1943)
We've Never Been Licked
as Commandant
(1942)
My Favorite Spy
as Major Allen
(1942)
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Dr. Henry Olcott
(1942)
The Glass Key
as Ralph Henry
(1942)
Nazi Agent
as Brenner
(1942)
Reunion in France
as Paul Grebeau
(1942)
Sundown Jim
as Andrew Barr
(1941)
Dive Bomber
as Senior Surgeon at San Diego
(1941)
One Foot in Heaven
as Dr. John Romer
(1941)
Life with Henry
as Sylvanus Q. Sattherwaite
(1941)
Dangerously They Live
as Mr. John Goodwin
(1941)
Three Sons o' Guns
as Philip G. Talbot
(1941)
Respect the Law
as Dr. Walter Terriss
(1940)
Santa Fe Trail
as Robert E. Lee
(1940)
Virginia City
as Cameron
(1940)
East of the River
as Judge R.D. Davis
(1940)
Brother Rat and a Baby
as Major Terry
(1940)
If I Had My Way
as Mr. Blair
(1940)
Brigham Young
as Doc Richards
(1939)
Homicide Bureau
as Captain Haines
(1939)
The Three Musketeers
as Bailiff
(1939)
Invisible Stripes
as The Warden
(1939)
Rose of Washington Square
as Buck Russell
(1939)
Barricade
as Managing Editor
(1939)
Code of the Secret Service
as The friar
(1939)
Off the Record
as Juvenal Court Judge
(1939)
Susannah of the Mounties
as Supt. Andrew Standing
(1939)
Dust Be My Destiny
as Slim Jones
(1939)
Allegheny Uprising
as Tom Calhoon
(1939)
The Bill of Rights
as Royal Governor Dunmore
(1939)
That's Right – You're Wrong
as Jonathan Forbes
(1938)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
as Magic Mirror (voice) (uncredited)
(1938)
What Do You Think? Tupapaoo
as Kurt Larsen
(1938)
There Goes My Heart
as Fisherman (uncredited)
(1938)
Kidnapped
as Douglas
(1938)
Kentucky
as John Dillon - 1938
(1938)
Marie Antoinette
as Bearded Leader of the People (uncredited)
(1938)
Submarine Patrol
as The Fleet Captain
(1938)
Gold Is Where You Find It
as Senator Hearst
(1938)
That Certain Age
as Fullerton's Associate (uncredited)
(1937)
The Soldier and the Lady
as Tartar Chief (Voice) (Uncredited)
(1937)
Adventure's End
as First Mate Rand Husk
(1937)
The Last Gangster
as Detective Danny Shea (uncredited)
(1936)
Two in Revolt
as Cyrus Benton
(1936)
Grand Jury
as Davis, the bodyguard
(1936)
The Witness Chair
as Lt. Poole
(1936)
Yellow Dust
as Missouri
(1936)
Mary of Scotland
as John Knox
(1936)
The Farmer in the Dell
as Chester Hart
(1936)
The Plough and the Stars
as General Connally
(1936)
M'Liss
as Jake
(1936)
Mummy's Boys
as Dr. Edward Sterling
(1935)
We're Only Human
as R.J. Curran
(1935)
Annie Oakley
as Col. William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
(1935)
The Three Musketeers
as Porthos
(1935)
Seven Keys to Baldpate
as Mayor Jim Cargen
(1934)
Death Takes a Holiday
as Cardinal De Valle (uncredited)