Acting
Moroni Olsen
EN cinema · 100 credits
Born
26 June 1889
Died
22 November 1954 (aged 65)
Birthplace
Ogden, Utah, USA
Also known as Maroni Olsen · Moroni Olson · John Willard
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
Filmography
The Long, Long Trailer
as Mr. Tewitt
Sign of the Pagan
as Pope Leo I
Marry Me Again
as Mr. Courtney
So This Is Love
as Arnold Reuben
At Sword's Point
as Porthos
Washington Story
as Speaker Of The House
Lone Star
as Sam Houston
Father's Little Dividend
as Herbert Dunstan
No Questions Asked
as Henry Manston
Submarine Command
as Rear Adm. Joshua Rice
Payment on Demand
as Mr. Barton
Father of the Bride
as Herbert Dunstan
The Fountainhead
as Chairman
Samson and Delilah
as Targil
Task Force
as Adm. Ames
Call Northside 777
as Parole Board Chairman
Up in Central Park
as Big Jim Fitts
Command Decision
as Congressman Stone
Possessed
as Dr. Ames
High Wall
as Dr. Philip Dunlap
Life with Father
as Dr. Humphries
The Long Night
as Chief of Police Bob McManus
That Hagen Girl
as Trenton Gateley
Black Gold
as Don Toland
Notorious
as Walter Beardsley
The Strange Woman
as Rev. Thatcher
The Walls Came Tumbling Down
as Bishop Martin
Boys' Ranch
as Judge Henderson
It's a Wonderful Life
as Senior Angel (voice) (uncredited)
From This Day Forward
as Tim Bagley
Mildred Pierce
as Inspector Peterson
Pride of the Marines
as Capt. Burroughs
Week-End at the Waldorf
as House Detective
Don't Fence Me In
as Henry Bennett
Behind City Lights
as Curtis Holbrook
Buffalo Bill
as Sen. Frederici
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
as Caliph Hassan
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
as General (uncredited)
Cobra Woman
as MacDonald
Air Force
as Col. Blake
Madame Curie
as President of Businessman's Board (uncredited)
Mission to Moscow
as Col. Faymonville
We've Never Been Licked
as Commandant
Nazi Agent
as Brenner
The Glass Key
as Ralph Henry
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
as Dr. Henry Olcott
My Favorite Spy
as Major Allen
Sundown Jim
as Andrew Barr
Reunion in France
as Paul Grebeau
Dive Bomber
as Senior Surgeon at San Diego
Dangerously They Live
as Mr. John Goodwin
One Foot in Heaven
as Dr. John Romer
Life with Henry
as Sylvanus Q. Sattherwaite
Three Sons o' Guns
as Philip G. Talbot
Respect the Law
as Dr. Walter Terriss
Santa Fe Trail
as Robert E. Lee
Brigham Young
as Doc Richards
East of the River
as Judge R.D. Davis
Virginia City
as Cameron
Brother Rat and a Baby
as Major Terry
If I Had My Way
as Mr. Blair
Dust Be My Destiny
as Slim Jones
Allegheny Uprising
as Tom Calhoon
Rose of Washington Square
as Buck Russell
Code of the Secret Service
as The friar
Barricade
as Managing Editor
Susannah of the Mounties
as Andrew Standing
That's Right – You're Wrong
as Jonathan Forbes
Homicide Bureau
as Captain Haines
The Three Musketeers
as Bailiff
Off the Record
as Juvenal Court Judge
The Bill of Rights
as Royal Governor Dunmore
Invisible Stripes
as The Warden
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
as Magic Mirror (voice) (uncredited)
What Do You Think? Tupapaoo
as Kurt Larsen
Submarine Patrol
as The Fleet Captain
Kentucky
as John Dillon - 1938
There Goes My Heart
as Fisherman (uncredited)
Kidnapped
as Douglas
Gold Is Where You Find It
as Senator Hearst
That Certain Age
as Fullerton's Associate (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette
as Bearded Leader of the People (uncredited)
The Last Gangster
as Detective Danny Shea (uncredited)
Adventure's End
as First Mate Rand Husk
The Soldier and the Lady
as Tartar Chief (Voice) (Uncredited)
Grand Jury
as Davis, the bodyguard
M'Liss
as Jake
Yellow Dust
as Missouri
Mary of Scotland
as John Knox
Two in Revolt
as Cyrus Benton
Mummy's Boys
as Dr. Edward Sterling
The Witness Chair
as Lt. Poole
The Farmer in the Dell
as Chester Hart
The Plough and the Stars
as General Connally
Annie Oakley
as Buffalo Bill
The Three Musketeers
as Porthos
Seven Keys to Baldpate
as Mayor Jim Cargen
We're Only Human
as R.J. Curran
Death Takes a Holiday
as Cardinal De Valle (uncredited)