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John Qualen (December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was a Canadian-American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Qualen was born Johan Mandt Kvalen in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of immigrants from Norway; his father was a Lutheran minister and changed the family's original surname, "Kvalen", to "Qualen". Qualen grew up in Elgin, Illinois. His acting career began when he was at Northwestern University which he attended on a scholarship from having won an oratory contest. Eventually making it to Broadway, he got his big break as the Swedish... MORE

John Qualen (December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was a Canadian-American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Qualen was born Johan Mandt Kvalen in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of immigrants from Norway; his father was a Lutheran minister and changed the family's original surname, "Kvalen", to "Qualen". Qualen grew up in Elgin, Illinois. His acting career began when he was at Northwestern University which he attended on a scholarship from having won an oratory contest. Eventually making it to Broadway, he got his big break as the Swedish janitor in Elmer Rice's Street Scene. His movie career began when he recreated the role in the film version. This was followed by his appearance in John Ford's Arrowsmith (1931) which began a more than thirty year membership in the director's "stock company", with important supporting roles in The Searchers (1956), Two Rode Together (1961) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Cheyenne Autumn. Appearing in well over one hundred films, and acting extensively on television into the 1970s, Qualen performed many of his roles with various accents, usually Scandinavian, often intended for comic LESS