Tor Johnson in Plan 9 from Outer Space

This face was turned into a Halloween Mask

Tor Johnson (October 19, 1903 – May 12, 1971) was a professional wrestler known as The Super Swedish Angel, and occasional actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in a number of B-movies, including police detective-cum-zombie "Inspector Dan Clay" in Plan 9 from Outer Space. In the 1990s, he would gain a cult following on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television series. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Plan 9 From Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction/horror film written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. ... Image File history File links PlanNine_10. ... Image File history File links PlanNine_10. ... Halloween is an observance celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets or money. ... October 19 is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... ... The term B-movie originally referred to a film designed to be distributed as the lower half of a double feature, often a genre film featuring cowboys, gangsters or vampires. ... Plan 9 From Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction/horror film written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific item, usually a film, television or radio program, though some comic books, musicians, writers or others also gain dedicated followings. ... Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999), usually abbreviated MST3K, is a cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson featuring a man and his robot sidekicks who are trapped on a satellite in space and forced to watch particularly bad movies. ...

Johnson, born on October 19, 1903, in Sweden, the son of Karl J. Johansson and Lovissa Petersson, was a large man, weighing 300 pounds (136 kg). He had a full head of blonde hair, but he shaved it to maintain the appearance of being the villain in wrestling and acting appearances. During most of his life, he was a wrestler. He began getting bit parts in movies upon his move to California - usually as the strongman or weightlifter - as early as 1934. His movie career ended in the early 1960s after appearing in a string of poorly-rated movies. However, he continued to make appearances on television and made a number of commercials. October 19 is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A typical cartoon villain. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

A number of Johnson's peers had commented that he was a very friendly man and easy to work with on movie sets. Valda Hansen, who worked with Johnson in the 1959 movie Revenge of the Dead said that "Tor was like a big sugar bun." Johnson befriended Bela Lugosi during the time both worked with infamous director Edward D. Wood Jr., and legend has it that Tor saved Lugosi's life one night when the elder actor was about to commit suicide. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp Béla Lugosi was the stage name of actor Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (October 20, 1882–August 16, 1956). ... Edward D. Wood, Jr. ...

Tor tended to speak very little, if at all, in his film roles, causing some to believe that he might be mentally handicapped. In truth, Tor was quite intelligent, and spoke English fairly well; however, his thick accent made his speech difficult to understand on film. Since directors were mainly casting him for his physical presence, they quickly realized he was more effective if he played his roles mute or near-mute. The MUTE Network, MUTE-net for short, is a peer-to-peer and friend-to-friend file sharing network developed with anonymity in mind. ...

Tor had a wife named Greta, and a son named Karl. Greta was well-liked by Tor's friends, who spoke of the meals she used to make. Greta also reportedly did not care for some of Tor's film work because she thought it made him look like a monster. Karl worked as a police officer, and appeared in some of Tor's movies. Tor died on May 12, 1971 at the San Fernando Valley Hospital in San Fernando, California, from congestive heart failure, at the age of 67. He was buried at the Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, California. May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... San Fernando (Spanish for Saint Ferdinand) may refer to: Argentina San Fernando, Buenos Aires, city of the Greater Buenos Aires. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Sacramento Los Angeles Area  - Total   - Width   - Length    - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 158,302 sq mi  410,000 km² 250 miles  400 km 770 miles  1,240 km 4. ... Congestive heart failure (CHF), also called congestive cardiac failure (CCF) or just heart failure, is a condition that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the heart to fill with or pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout the body. ... Newhall is a small city in the Santa Clarita Valley in California, USA and is home to the William S. Hart County Park, featuring tours of this famous silent movie makers mansion. ...

He was portrayed by fellow wrestler George "The Animal" Steele in the Tim Burton Ed Wood film. George Steele, better known as George The Animal Steele (b. ... Tim Burton Timothy William Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American film director, writer and designer known for his off-beat and quirky style. ... Ed Wood is a biopic directed by Tim Burton, stars Johnny Depp as the transvestite cult movie maker Edward D. Wood Jr. ...

Memorable quotes

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Tor Johnson

As Lobo in The Unearthly
Lobo: Time for go to bed! Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... Wikiquote logo Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ...

As Inspector Daniel Clay in Plan 9 from Outer Space
Clay: I'm a big boy now, Johnny! Plan 9 From Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction/horror film written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. ...

External links

• Tor Johnson at The Internet Movie Database
• Tor Johnson in Find-A-Grave