John Qualen

Spouse (1) Pearle Larson (1924 - 12 September 1987) ( his death) ( 3 children) Exaggerated Scandinavian accent (although he himself was born and raised in Canada) Small, slight frame Bumbling comic relief characters Though some reference works list his birth name as Oleson or Olson, in actuality Qualen's grandfather changed the family name from Olson to Kvalen long before Qualen's birth. Qualen's father subsequently changed the name from Kvalen to Qualen, after Qualen's birth. Originally pronounced identically to the previous spelling ("Kvah-len"), John Qualen himself changed the pronunciation to "Kway-len." Of Norwegian parentage. In 1930, although working in New York, his home base was at 328 Sidney Street West, St. Paul, Minnesota. Appeared with John Wayne in nine films: The Long Voyage Home (1940), The Shepherd of the Hills (1941), The High and the Mighty (1954), The Sea Chase (1955), The Searchers (1956), North to Alaska (1960), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Donovan's Reef (1963) and The Sons of Katie Elder (1965). Was a talented musician playing piano, flute and saxophone in traveling concert parties. He became involved in acting while touring in Canada. Teamed with Paul Fix 5 times. They started in "Road to Glory (1936)" and finished in 1973 in "The Streets of San Francisco: Winterkill." In between, they made featured appearances in 3 John Wayne movies: "The High and the Mighty" (1954), "The Sea Chase" (1955) and "The Sons of Katie Elder" (1965). Was in five Oscar Best Picture nominees: Arrowsmith (1931), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The Long Voyage Home (1940), Casablanca (1942) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959). Casablanca won Best Picture of 1943.