Moroni Olsen


Moroni Olsen was an American actor.

Early life and education

Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah, to Latter-day Saint parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha Olsen, who named him after the Moroni found in the Book of Mormon. His father was Bishop of the Fourth Ward of Ogden.
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.

Career

In 1920, he was teaching drama at the Cornish School in Seattle, Washington.
In 1923, Olsen organized the "Moroni Olsen Players," based in Ogden. They performed at both Ogden's Orpheum Theatre and at various other locations spread from Salt Lake City to Seattle.
After working 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. He appeared in scores of films during his career.
His most famous role was the voice of the Slave in The Magic Mirror in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Olsen provided the voice of the senior angel in It's a Wonderful Life. His roles before the camera include a Secret Service officer in Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film Notorious and the father-in-law of Elizabeth Taylor in the film comedies Father of the Bride and Father's Little Dividend.
Olsen was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being a teacher of youth in the Hollywood Ward. He also was director of the Pilgrimage Play of Hollywood for several years.

Death

Olsen died on November 22, 1954, of a heart attack at the age of 65. He is buried in the Ogden City Cemetery.

Broadway roles

  • Mary of Scotland as John Knox

    Selected filmography

  • The Three Musketeers as Porthos
  • Annie Oakley as William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
  • Seven Keys to Baldpate as Mayor Jim Cargan
  • We're Only Human as Inspector J.R. Curran
  • Yellow Dust as Missouri
  • The Farmer in the Dell as Chester Hart
  • Two in Revolt as Cyrus Benton
  • The Witness Chair as Lieutenant Poole
  • M'Liss as Jake
  • Mary of Scotland as John Knox
  • Grand Jury as Davis, Taylor's Bodyguard
  • Mummy's Boys as Dr. Edward Sterling
  • The Plough and the Stars as Irish Leader
  • The Soldier and the Lady as Tartar Chief
  • The Life of Emile Zola as Capt. Guignet
  • The Last Gangster as Detective Danny Shea
  • Manhattan Merry-Go-Round as Jonathan
  • Adventure's End as First Mate Rand Husk
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as Magic Mirror
  • Gold Is Where You Find It as Senator Hearst
  • Kidnapped as Douglas
  • Marie Antoinette as Bearded Leader of the People
  • That Certain Age as Fullerton's Associate
  • There Goes My Heart as Fisherman
  • Submarine Patrol as The Fleet Captain
  • Kentucky as John Dillon – 1938
  • Homicide Bureau as Capt. Haines
  • Off the Record as Juvenal Court Judge
  • The Three Musketeers as Bailiff
  • Rose of Washington Square as Major Buck Russell
  • Sons of Liberty as Robert Morris, Superintendent of Finance
  • Code of the Secret Service as The Friar
  • Susannah of the Mounties as Supt. Andrew Standing
  • Dust Be My Destiny as Slim Jones – Defense Attorney
  • Allegheny Uprising as Calhoon
  • That's Right—You're Wrong as Jonathan Forbes
  • Barricade as Shanghai Managing Editor
  • Invisible Stripes as The Warden
  • Brother Rat and a Baby as Maj. Terry
  • Virginia City as Dr. Robert Cameron
  • If I Had My Way as Mr. Blair
  • Brigham Young as Doc Richards
  • East of the River as Judge R.D. Davis
  • Life with Henry as Sylvanus Q. Sattherwaite
  • Santa Fe Trail as Robert E. Lee
  • Three Sons o' Guns as Philip Talbot
  • Dive Bomber as Senior Surgeon at San Diego
  • One Foot in Heaven as Dr. John Romer
  • Dangerously They Live as Mr. Goodwin
  • Nazi Agent as Brenner
  • Sundown Jim as Andrew Barr
  • Ship Ahoy as Inspector Davis
  • My Favorite Spy as Major Allen
  • The Glass Key as Ralph Henry
  • Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as Dr. Olcott
  • Reunion in France as Paul Grebeau
  • Air Force as Col. Blake
  • Mission to Moscow as Col. Faymonville
  • We've Never Been Licked as Commandant
  • Madame Curie as President of Businessman's Board
  • The Song of Bernadette as Chaplain
  • Buffalo Bill as Sen. Frederici
  • Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves as Caliph Hassan
  • Cobra Woman as MacDonald
  • Roger Touhy, Gangster as Riley
  • Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo as General
  • The Valley of Decision as Richard Kane
  • Pride of the Marines as Capt. Burroughs
  • Behind City Lights as Curtis Holbrook
  • Mildred Pierce as Inspector Peterson
  • Week-End at the Waldorf as House Detective Blake
  • Don't Fence Me In as Henry Bennett, aka Harry Benson
  • From This Day Forward as Tim Bagley
  • Night in Paradise as High Priest
  • The Walls Came Tumbling Down as Bishop Martin
  • Boys' Ranch as Judge Henderson
  • Notorious as Walter Beardsley
  • The Strange Woman as Rev. Thatcher
  • It's a Wonderful Life as Senior Angel
  • The Beginning or the End as Dr. Arthur H. Compton
  • The Long Night as Chief of Police Bob McManus
  • Possessed as Dr. Ames
  • Life with Father as Dr. Humphries
  • Black Gold as Don Toland
  • That Hagen Girl as Trenton Gateley
  • High Wall as Dr. Philip Dunlap
  • Call Northside 777 as Parole Board Chairman
  • Up in Central Park as Big Jim Fitts
  • Command Decision as Congressman Stone
  • The Fountainhead as Chairman
  • Task Force as Adm. Ames
  • Samson and Delilah as Targil
  • Father of the Bride as Herbert Dunstan
  • Payment on Demand as Arnold Barton
  • Father's Little Dividend as Herbert Dunstan
  • No Questions Asked as Henry Manston
  • Submarine Command as Rear Adm. Joshua Rice
  • Lone Star as Sam Houston
  • At Sword's Point as Porthos
  • Washington Story as Speaker of the House
  • So This Is Love as Arnold Reuben
  • Marry Me Again as Mr. Courtney
  • The Long, Long Trailer as Mr. Tewitt
  • Sign of the Pagan as Pope Leo I