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)
So This Is Love
as Arnold Reuben
(1953)
Marry Me Again
as Mr. Courtney
(1952)
Lone Star
as Sam Houston
(1952)
At Sword's Point
as Porthos
(1952)
Washington Story
as Speaker Of The House
(1951)
Father's Little Dividend
as Herbert Dunstan
(1951)
Payment on Demand
as Mr. Barton
(1951)
Submarine Command
as Rear Adm. Joshua Rice
(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)
Command Decision
as Congressman Stone
(1948)
Up in Central Park
as Big Jim Fitts
(1947)
Possessed
as Dr. Ames - Mrs. Smith's psychiatrist
(1947)
The Long Night
as Chief of Police Bob McManus
(1947)
Life with Father
as Dr. Humphries
(1947)
Black Gold
as Don Toland
(1947)
High Wall
as Dr. Philip Dunlap
(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)
From This Day Forward
as Tim Bagley
(1946)
The Walls Came Tumbling Down
as Bishop Martin
(1946)
Boys' Ranch
as Judge Henderson
(1945)
Mildred Pierce
as Inspector Peterson
(1945)
Pride of the Marines
as Capt. Burroughs
(1945)
Week-End at the Waldorf
as House Detective
(1945)
Don't Fence Me In
as Henry Bennett
(1944)
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
as Caliph Hassan
(1944)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
as General (uncredited)
(1944)
Cobra Woman
as MacDonald
(1944)
Buffalo Bill
as Sen. Frederici
(1944)
Roger Touhy, Gangster
as Riley
(1943)
Air Force
as Col. Blake
(1943)
Madame Curie
as President of Businessman's Board (uncredited)
(1943)
Mission to Moscow
as Col. Faymonville
(1943)
We've Never Been Licked
as Commandant
(1942)
My Favorite Spy
as Major Allen
(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
(1942)
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Dr. Henry Olcott
(1941)
One Foot in Heaven
as Dr. John Romer
(1941)
Dive Bomber
as Senior Surgeon at San Diego
(1941)
Dangerously They Live
as Mr. John Goodwin
(1941)
Three Sons o' Guns
as Philip G. Talbot
(1941)
Life with Henry
as Sylvanus Q. Sattherwaite
(1941)
Respect the Law
as Dr. Walter Terriss
(1940)
Santa Fe Trail
as Robert E. Lee
(1940)
Virginia City
as Cameron
(1940)
If I Had My Way
as Mr. Blair
(1940)
Brigham Young
as Doc Richards
(1940)
Brother Rat and a Baby
as Major Terry
(1940)
East of the River
as Judge R.D. Davis
(1939)
Invisible Stripes
as The Warden
(1939)
Susannah of the Mounties
as Supt. Andrew Standing
(1939)
Allegheny Uprising
as Tom Calhoon
(1939)
The Three Musketeers
as Bailiff
(1939)
Code of the Secret Service
as The friar
(1939)
Barricade
as Managing Editor
(1939)
That's Right – You're Wrong
as Jonathan Forbes
(1939)
Rose of Washington Square
as Buck Russell
(1939)
Homicide Bureau
as Captain Haines
(1939)
Dust Be My Destiny
as Slim Jones
(1939)
Off the Record
as Juvenal Court Judge
(1939)
The Bill of Rights
as Royal Governor Dunmore
(1938)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
as Magic Mirror (voice) (uncredited)
(1938)
Marie Antoinette
as Bearded Leader of the People (uncredited)
(1938)
Submarine Patrol
as The Fleet Captain
(1938)
Kidnapped
as Douglas
(1938)
There Goes My Heart
as Fisherman (uncredited)
(1938)
Kentucky
as John Dillon - 1938
(1938)
Gold Is Where You Find It
as Senator Hearst
(1938)
That Certain Age
as Fullerton's Associate (uncredited)
(1938)
What Do You Think? Tupapaoo
as Kurt Larsen
(1937)
The Last Gangster
as Detective Danny Shea (uncredited)
(1937)
The Soldier and the Lady
as Tartar Chief (Voice) (Uncredited)
(1937)
Adventure's End
as First Mate Rand Husk
(1936)
Mary of Scotland
as John Knox
(1936)
The Plough and the Stars
as General Connally
(1936)
Yellow Dust
as Missouri
(1936)
M'Liss
as Jake
(1936)
Mummy's Boys
as Dr. Edward Sterling
(1936)
The Witness Chair
as Lt. Poole
(1936)
Two in Revolt
as Cyrus Benton
(1936)
The Farmer in the Dell
as Chester Hart
(1936)
Grand Jury
as Davis, the bodyguard
(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
(1935)
We're Only Human
as R.J. Curran
(1934)
Death Takes a Holiday
as Cardinal De Valle (uncredited)