Born in Sweden to a Russian mother and a Swedish father, Bo Svenson emigrated to the US as a teenager, and after spending six years in the US Marine Corps, headed to Hollywood to become an actor. He received critical acclaim for his role as The Creature in the 1973 TV movie "Wide World Mystery: Frankenstein: Part 1 (#1.2)" (1973), and appeared in several other made-for-TV films including Hitched (1971) (TV), Target Risk (1975) (TV) and Snowbeast (1977) (TV).Svenson's most memorable roles are The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), Walking Tall Part II (1975), Final Chapter: Walking Tall (1977), North Dallas Forty (1979), The Delta Force (1986) and Solitude Point (1998) and has appeared in several films with his friend Fred Williamson. Although he is best known as an actor, he also an accomplished writer, director and producer. He hosts PBS Television's "The Di Palma Forum at UNLV" (1999) and is a sought-after speaker and seminarian.Svenson is also an accomplished athlete and has competed in world championships, Olympic selections and international competition in judo, yachting, track, ice hockey and auto racing (NASCAR, PRO-SCCA and F1A). He was Chairman of the Board and CEO of Motion Picture Group of America from 1984-1995.While he has received numerous awards and nominations for his body of work, he especially values the Italian Institute of Art Award of Merit, the American Culture Foundation Man of the Year Award, Italy's Legione Garibaldina Ruole D'Onore, the NAACP Image Award, the Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy Golden Scroll Award, and the Hollywood Women's Press Club Golden Apple.He lives in Pacific Palisades, CA, and on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia.

Served in the U.S. Marine Corps 1959-1965.Three daughters: Pia, Maja and Mia.Pursued a Ph.D. in Meta-Physics 1967-1975. Attended UCLA 1970-1974.Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1976" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 28.This tower of a man is considered among the tallest leading men of all time, at 6' 5" being an inch taller than John Wayne and two inches shorter than 6' 7" fellow soldier-turned-actor James Arness.Chairman of the board and CEO of Motion Picture Group of America from 1984-1994. CEO of MagicQuest Entertainment from 1994 to present.Host of PBS Television's "The Di Palma Forum at UNLV" (1999-2006).He was television's highest-paid actor for his reprisal of Buford Pusser in the television series "Walking Tall" (1981). Only Johnny Carson was making more than he was at the time.Attended the University of Meiji in Japan from 1960 to 1963.U.S. Armed Forces Far East Heavyweight Division Judo Champion (1961).In recognition of his achievements in the martial arts, Svenson, a high-ranking black belt, will be inducted into the Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame on August 8, 2009 in the Long Beach Convention Center, California.Two days after completing his starring role with Dolph Lundgren in the action-packed motion picture ICARUS, which Lundgren also directed, Svenson competed in the 2009 USA Judo National Championships and won silver in the 90 kg division - despite the three broken ribs he had suffered ten days earlier.Svenson's next judo competition will be the 2009 PanAm Games and the 2009 World Championships.Speaker and lecturer. Ph.D candidate in metaphysics, 1975. UpdateYou may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.Add resumeWith our Resume service you can add photos and build a complete resume to help you achieve the best possible presentation on the IMDb.Click here to add your resume and/or your photos to IMDb. Browse biographies section by nameA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z