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Moroni Olsen

Named for the angel that allegedly revealed a prophecy to Joseph Smith, character actor Moroni Olsen lives on most prominently as the voice of another angel, albeit one that is unseen. Each Christmas season Olsen can be heard as the senior angel giving orders to Clarence in perennial favorite "It's a Wonderful Life." Reared and educated in Utah, Olsen was born into a family devoted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and carried that devotion with him throughout his career. After performing in several Broadway plays in the early 1920s, he returned to Utah in 1923 and formed the Moroni Olsen Players, a traveling repertory company that toured throughout the western United States. He went back to New York for a couple more years before venturing out to Hollywood in 1935. His first film role was as Porthos in an RKO production of "The Three Musketeers," and such a prominent part suggested that stardom was a possibility, but instead he settled into the life of a constantly working character actor. His tall, commanding presence and sonorous voice led him to be cast most often in positions of authority: military officers, doctors and police officers were common. The distinctive voice also secured his other memorable role, that of the Magic Mirror in Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."