Bo Svenson

Bo Svenson (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

Svenson was born in Sweden, the son of Birger Ragnar Svensson (1917–?), an athlete and the personal driver and bodyguard for the King of Sweden, and musician/big band leader Iris Viola "Lola" Svensson (1912–1998).

Svenson emigrated to the United States when he was 17, joined the United States Marine Corps, and served until his honorable discharge six years later. After his military service, Svenson settled in Florida, where he earned his living in various jobs, including professional race car driver. His first state of residence in the United States was Georgia, where he became familiar with the rural Southern accent he later employed in some of his roles. He has since become a naturalized United States citizen.

He also holds a fourth degree (Yondan) black belt in judo. He earned his first degree (Shodan) belt at Kodokan in Japan, the home dojo of Judo, while stationed in Japan in 1961 as a Marine. He was the 1961 Far East Judo Champion in the Heavyweight Division.

Career

In the late 1960s, Svenson had a recurring role in the TV series Here Come the Brides as Lumberjack Olaf "Big Swede" Gustavsen. He appeared in the 1973 made-for-TV movie Frankenstein, in which he plays the "Creature".

One of his first big-screen movie roles was opposite Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper, where Redford and Svenson play rival ex-WWI U.S. Army Air Service pilots who are now employed in the hard and dangerous but wildly adventurous lives of 1920s barnstorming pilots, touring the Midwest.