Tor Johnson

Karl Erik Tore Johansson (19 October 1903 – 12 May 1971), better known by the stage name Tor Johnson, was a Swedish professional wrestler and actor. As an actor, Johnson appeared in many B-movies, including some famously directed by Ed Wood. In professional wrestling, Johnson was billed as Thor Johnson and Super Swedish Angel.

Early life

Johnson was born on 19 October 1903 in Brännkyrka, Stockholms län, Sweden, the son of Karl Johan Johansson and Lovisa Kristina Pettersson. His death certificate and grave list 1903 as the year of his birth, contradicting published genealogy records.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

File:PlanNine 10.jpg

Johnson in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)

Johnson stood Template:Height<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and weighed Template:Convert at his heaviest. He had a full head of blond hair, but shaved it to maintain an imposing and villainous appearance in his wrestling and acting work. He began getting bit parts in films upon moving to California, usually as the strongman or weightlifter, as early as 1934. In the same year, Johnson was one of over 50 wrestlers who took part in a two-month Los Angeles tournament for California's version of the world title. His film career ended in the early 1960s, after he appeared in a string of low-budget, poorly-rated films. However, he continued to make appearances on television and made a number of commercials.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Tor Johnson used the ring name Super Swedish Angel to distinguish himself from Nils Phillip Olofsson who used the ring name Swedish Angel. The name was derived from wrestler Maurice Tillet, known as The French Angel.

During his career as an actor, Johnson befriended director Ed Wood, who directed him in a number of films, including Bride of the Monster and Plan 9 from Outer Space; writing for Turner Classic Movies, film critic Donald Liebenson described Johnson's performance in Plan 9 as "gonzo."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Johnson was very friendly to work with; actress Valda Hansen, who worked with Johnson in 1959's Night of the Ghouls, described him as "like a big sugar bun."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During this period, Johnson appeared as a guest contestant on the quiz show You Bet Your Life, during which he showed the show's host, Groucho Marx, his "scariest face." Marx ran off the stage in mock terror, then returned and pleaded: "Don't make that face again!"

Death and legacy

Johnson died of heart failure in San Fernando, California, at the age of 67 and<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is buried at Eternal Valley Memorial Park, in Santa Clarita, California.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Johnson was portrayed by wrestler George "The Animal" Steele in Tim Burton's film Ed Wood (1994).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Johnson was featured extensively in the early work of cartoonist Drew Friedman, where Johnson was depicted as "Tor", a slow-witted, white-eyed lummox based on Johnson's persona in Ed Wood's films.<ref name="FriedmanFriedman2012">Template:Cite book</ref> The first of the one-page comics, "Tor Johnson at Home", was published in a 1981 issue of Robert Crumb's Weirdo,<ref>Friedman, Drew. "Tor Johnson at Home," Weirdo #4 (Last Gasp, Feb. 1982).</ref> and the original artwork was purchased by television writer and producer Eddie Gorodetsky.<ref name="Friedman2007">Template:Cite book</ref>

A latex mask based on Johnson's face, sculpted by Pat Newman for Don Post Studios, is described as "the best-selling Halloween horror mask of the late 1960s-early 1970s".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1934	Registered Nurse	Sonnevich	Uncredited<ref name="III2003">Template:Cite book</ref>
	Kid Millions	Torturer	Uncredited<ref name="Fetrow1992">Template:Cite book</ref>
1935	Some Class	Tough Guy	Short, Uncredited<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	Man on the Flying Trapeze	Tosoff	Uncredited<ref name="Fetrow1992"/>
1936	Under Two Flags	Bidou	Uncredited
1941	Shadow of the Thin Man	Jack the Ripper (wrestler)	Uncredited<ref name="KingHanson1999"/>
1942	Gentleman Jim	The Mauler	Uncredited
1943	The Meanest Man in the World	Vladimir Pulasky	Uncredited<ref name="Fetrow1994">Template:Cite book</ref>
	Swing Out the Blues	Weightlifter
1944	Ghost Catchers	Mug	Uncredited<ref name="DettmanBedford1976">Template:Cite book</ref>
	The Canterville Ghost	Bold Sir Guy	Uncredited<ref name="Institute1999">Template:Cite book</ref>
	Lost in a Harem	Majordomo	Uncredited
1945	Sudan	Slaver	Uncredited<ref name="KingHanson1999">Template:Cite book</ref>
1947	Road to Rio	Sandor	Uncredited<ref name="Mielke1997">Template:Cite book</ref>
1948	State of the Union	Wrestler	Uncredited
	Behind Locked Doors	The Champ	Uncredited"<ref name="Freese2017"/>
1949	Alias the Champ	Super Swedish Angel
1950	The Reformer and the Redhead	Big Finnish man	Uncredited<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
	Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion	Abou Ben
1951	The Lemon Drop Kid	Super Swedish Angel
	Dear Brat		Uncredited
	Angels in the Outfield	Wrestler On TV	Uncredited
1952	The San Francisco Story	Buck	Uncredited<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	Lady in the Iron Mask	Renac	Uncredited<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1953	Houdini	Strong Man	Uncredited<ref name="Fetrow1999">Template:Cite book</ref>
1955	Bride of the Monster	Lobo
	You're Never Too Young	Train passenger	Uncredited<ref name="NeibaurOkuda1995">Template:Cite book</ref>
1956	Carousel	Strongman	Uncredited<ref name="Daniel1957">Template:Cite book</ref>
	The Black Sleep	Mr. Curry
1957	Journey to Freedom	Giant Turk
	The Unearthly	Lobo	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Plan 9 from Outer Space	Inspector Daniel Clay
1959	Night of the Ghouls	Lobo
1961	The Beast of Yucca Flats	Joseph Javorsky / The Beast
1968	Head	Security guard

Television

Year	Series	Role	Episode
1953–1954	You Are There		"The Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "The Surrender of Corregidor"<ref name="Gianakos1980">Template:Cite book</ref>
1954	General Electric Theater	Bald Man	"To Lift a Feather"<ref name="Lentz2001">Template:Cite book</ref>
1954	Rocky Jones, Space Ranger	Naboro	"Inferno in Space"<ref name="LucanioCoville1998">Template:Cite book</ref>
1956	The Adventures of Hiram Holliday	Bandini the Strongman	"Dancing Mouse"
1959	You Bet Your Life	Tor Johnson	#59-11
1960	Adventures in Paradise	Miko	"Once Around the Circuit"<ref name="LeibfriedLane2010">Template:Cite book</ref> "The Lady From South Chicago"<ref name="Chan2007">Template:Cite book</ref>
1960	Peter Gunn	Bruno	"See No Evil"<ref name="Freese2017">Template:Cite book</ref>
1960	Bonanza	Busthead Brannigan	"San Francisco"<ref name="LeibyLeiby2012">Template:Cite book</ref>
1961	Shirley Temple's Storybook	The Strongman	"Pippi Longstocking"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

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