Wikipedia

Moroni Olsen

Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889 – November 22, 1954) was an American actor.

Moroni Olsen
Olsen in Father's Little Dividend (1951)
Born(1889-06-27)June 27, 1889
Ogden, Utah, U.S.
DiedNovember 22, 1954(1954-11-22) (aged 65)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1919–1954

Life and career

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Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah, to Latter-day Saint parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha (née Hoverholst) Olsen,[1][2] who named him after the Moroni found in the Book of Mormon.[3][better source needed] His father was Bishop of the Fourth Ward of Ogden.[4][5]

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 1920, he was teaching drama at the Cornish School (later Cornish College of the Arts) in Seattle, Washington.[6]

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 (1937). 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 (1950) and Father's Little Dividend (1951).

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.[3]

Olsen died on November 22, 1954, of a heart attack at the age of 65. He is buried in the Ogden City Cemetery.[7]

Broadway roles

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Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Join Ancestry®". Ancestry.com.
  2. ^ "Western States Marriage Index". Ancestry.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Keepapitchinin, the Mormon History blog » Moroni Olsen: Class Act". Keepapitchinin. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  4. ^ "Moroni Olsen Platform Reader". The Evening Standard. Ogden, UT. February 3, 1913. p. 8.
  5. ^ Jenson, Andrew (1901). Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co. pp. 787–788.
  6. ^ "(front page photo)". The Town Crier. No. v.15, no.5. Seattle: Wood & Reber, Inc. January 31, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "Stage and Screen Actor Moroni Olsen Dies at 65". Spokane Daily Chronicle. November 23, 1954. p. 16. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
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