Tor Johnson was a gigantic man with a gigantic heart, born on October 19, 1903, in Sweden. For most of his adult life, he was a professional wrestler, making a name for himself in the ring.
As his wrestling career began to wind down, Tor started making appearances in movies, initially in uncredited or bit parts, dating back to 1934. He went on to star in 31 films, often playing the role of a weightlifter or strongman.
Later in his career, Tor landed larger roles with character names. He appeared in the Bing Crosby-Bob Hope movie Road to Rio (1947) as Samson, and had a part in Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) as Abou Ben.
Contrary to the depiction in the semi-documentary "Ed Wood," it was actually Ed Wood who approached Tor and asked him to become an actor, sparking his film career. Ed worked with Tor towards the end of his movie career, casting him in Bride of the Monster (1955) as Lobo.
Tor reprised his role as Lobo in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957),and then again in Night of the Ghouls (1959),where a prop gun incident left Paul Marco (Kelton the Cop) unconscious, much to Tor's distress.
Ed Wood's friend and cohort, Anthony Cardoza, cast Tor in the starring role of The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961),a low-budget film that marked the end of Tor's movie career. Despite this, Tor went on to have a brief TV career in the 1960s, appearing on "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx, "The Red Skelton Show," and in various TV commercials.
Tor's costars remembered him fondly, describing him as a "lovely man" who was "so cooperative" and had a "warmth" about him. They also recalled his love of good food and drink, particularly his wife Greta's Swedish cooking and homemade ice cream.
Tor's son, Karl, grew up to be big and strong, becoming a Lieutenant with the San Fernando Police Department. Friends would often chuckle about Tor's fondness for driving a midget foreign car, which was "not much bigger than he was."
Tor Johnson passed away on May 12, 1971, in San Fernando, CA, at the age of 67, due to a heart ailment.
