Olan Evart Soule (February 28, 1909 â€" February 1, 1994) was an
American character actor and voice-over performer who had professional
credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in
200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films.
Soule's voice work on television included his 15-year role
(1968â€"1983) as Batman on several animated series that were either
devoted to or involved the fictional "Dark Knight" superhero.Born in
1909 in La Harpe, Illinois, to Elbert and Ann Williams Soule
(descendants of three Mayflower passengers), Olan left Illinois at the
age of seven and arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, where he lived until he
was seventeen. He then launched his theatrical career by joining Jack
Brooks' tent show in Sabula, Jackson County, Iowa.After leaving the
tent show, Soule appeared on stage in Chicago for seven years before
moving to radio in 1933, including a stint on Chandu the Magician
(1935â€"36). On radio he performed for eleven years in the daytime
soap opera Bachelor's Children. Beginning in 1943, he played lead male
characters on radio's famed The First Nighter Program for nine years.
Listeners of First Nighter who met Soule in person were often
surprised, since his slight 135-pound frame did not seem to match the
voices he gave to his characters. From 1941 on, Soule had the role of
L. William Kelly, SS-11, the second in command of the Secret Squadron
on the Captain Midnight radio adventure serial. When Captain Midnight
became a television series in the 1950s, Soule was known as SQ-3,
behind Captain Midnight himself and Ichabod Mudd "with two D's". He
also had a regular part on Lee Hansen's 1970s and 1980s science
fiction radio drama Alien Worlds.Concluding his nine-year run on First
Nighter, Soule moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in films and
television shows, building a reputation as a reliable character actor.
He was best known as Mr. Krull, a boarding house resident in The Day
The Earth Stood Still. He appeared on many television series: The
Donald O'Connor Show (as a semi-regular), Captain Midnight (as
scientist Aristotle "Tut" Jones), I Love Lucy, several appearances as
a hotel clerk and choir director John Masters on The Andy Griffith
Show, and a semi-regular role as real-life LAPD criminalist Ray Pinker
on the original TV and radio version of Dragnet, and as the slightly
renamed but essentially identical LAPD criminalist Ray Murray on the
1967 revival version. He played many different television roles in
Jack Webb's Mark VII Productions including Dragnet, Adam-12,
Emergency! and Project U.F.O.. In between the two Dragnet gigs, he had
a similar semi-regular role on another LAPD-based TV series, The New
Breed, as an unnamed "lab technician." He also made six appearances on
Perry Mason, mostly as a court clerk, but also as a bank employee and
water company official.
American character actor and voice-over performer who had professional
credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in
200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films.
Soule's voice work on television included his 15-year role
(1968â€"1983) as Batman on several animated series that were either
devoted to or involved the fictional "Dark Knight" superhero.Born in
1909 in La Harpe, Illinois, to Elbert and Ann Williams Soule
(descendants of three Mayflower passengers), Olan left Illinois at the
age of seven and arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, where he lived until he
was seventeen. He then launched his theatrical career by joining Jack
Brooks' tent show in Sabula, Jackson County, Iowa.After leaving the
tent show, Soule appeared on stage in Chicago for seven years before
moving to radio in 1933, including a stint on Chandu the Magician
(1935â€"36). On radio he performed for eleven years in the daytime
soap opera Bachelor's Children. Beginning in 1943, he played lead male
characters on radio's famed The First Nighter Program for nine years.
Listeners of First Nighter who met Soule in person were often
surprised, since his slight 135-pound frame did not seem to match the
voices he gave to his characters. From 1941 on, Soule had the role of
L. William Kelly, SS-11, the second in command of the Secret Squadron
on the Captain Midnight radio adventure serial. When Captain Midnight
became a television series in the 1950s, Soule was known as SQ-3,
behind Captain Midnight himself and Ichabod Mudd "with two D's". He
also had a regular part on Lee Hansen's 1970s and 1980s science
fiction radio drama Alien Worlds.Concluding his nine-year run on First
Nighter, Soule moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in films and
television shows, building a reputation as a reliable character actor.
He was best known as Mr. Krull, a boarding house resident in The Day
The Earth Stood Still. He appeared on many television series: The
Donald O'Connor Show (as a semi-regular), Captain Midnight (as
scientist Aristotle "Tut" Jones), I Love Lucy, several appearances as
a hotel clerk and choir director John Masters on The Andy Griffith
Show, and a semi-regular role as real-life LAPD criminalist Ray Pinker
on the original TV and radio version of Dragnet, and as the slightly
renamed but essentially identical LAPD criminalist Ray Murray on the
1967 revival version. He played many different television roles in
Jack Webb's Mark VII Productions including Dragnet, Adam-12,
Emergency! and Project U.F.O.. In between the two Dragnet gigs, he had
a similar semi-regular role on another LAPD-based TV series, The New
Breed, as an unnamed "lab technician." He also made six appearances on
Perry Mason, mostly as a court clerk, but also as a bank employee and
water company official.
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