Warner Oland's Real Name: Johan Verner Ölund

Quick answer: Warner Oland was born Johan Verner Ölund on October 3, 1879, in Nyby (Bjurholm), Västerbotten, Sweden. He anglicized his name after emigrating to the United States and died on August 6, 1938, in Stockholm (Britannica; Library of Congress).

From Ölund to Oland

The Ölund family emigrated from Sweden to the United States in 1892, when Johan was about 13, and settled in New England. "Verner" became Warner, and the Swedish "Ölund" became Oland. He studied drama in Boston and toured with stage companies. He also translated plays by Swedish dramatist August Strindberg into English with his wife, painter Edith Gardener Shearn.

Silent-film villain

Oland entered films in the 1910s. Because of his heavy-lidded features, studios often cast him as Asian villains, a common and now widely criticized Hollywood practice of the era called yellowface. He played the villain in several Pearl White serials. He also appeared in The Jazz Singer (1927), the landmark early talkie, as cantor Rabinowitz, the father of Al Jolson's character (Britannica).

Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan

Oland played Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) and its sequels. He also appeared in Josef von Sternberg's Shanghai Express (1932) with Marlene Dietrich.

His biggest success was as the Honolulu detective Charlie Chan, created by novelist Earl Derr Biggers, starting with Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). He made 16 Chan films for Fox, including Charlie Chan in London (1934), Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) and Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936). The films were very popular, though today they are discussed critically because a white actor played the Chinese American lead.

Final years

Oland's health and drinking problems disrupted production of Charlie Chan at the Ringside in 1938. He traveled to Sweden and died there of pneumonia that August, at age 58. Sidney Toler took over the Charlie Chan role.