A noted animal lover, he rescued two dogs following the making of his movie The Trail of '98 (1928).
Became a star in King Vidor classic silent The Big Parade (1925) as the tobacco-chewing riveter Slim. The popularity extended to Denmark where his long-estranged brother and children from his first marriage saw it. They reconnected and he enjoyed a reunion with them.
Before being in movies Dane worked as a carpenter.
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. pg. 28-29 (article titled 'Arthur and Dane'). New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
Emigrated to the United States (Ellis Island) on 11 February 1916 and settled in Brooklyn, taking on various jobs as a machinist, carpenter and auto mechanic. His wife and children stayed in Copenhagen. His wife, too ill to make the journey to America, eventually divorced him and he lost touch with his children, until the success of "The Big Parade" when they regained contact.
Following his suicide with a gun in 1934, fellow Danish actor and MGM star Jean Hersholt, concerned that Dane would be placed in a pauper's grave, insisted that MGM step in and give him a proper burial. They did and he is interred in Hollywood Memorial cemetery. Hersholt and actor/former "Big Parade" co-star Tom O'Brien served as pallbearers.
He and George K. Arthur formed the early comedy team of "Arthur and Dane."
His second wife died in childbirth as did his child, a daughter.
In 2009 a biography of his life "Karl Dane: A Biography and Filmography" by Laura Petersen Balogh was released via McFarland Publishing.
In October 2009 as part of their 87th anniversary The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles held a screening of "The Big Parade" in honor of Dane.
Karl was also an auto racer and an aviator, being one of the first Danish aviators with the Danish Flying Corps.
Lived with Russian dancer/actress Thais Valdemar for several months in 1928. Though they told people they were married, in reality they never wed. In December 1928, after their split, she filed a lawsuit against him for $75,000 claiming breach of promise.
Quite athletic in his youth, he was an excellent swimmer, bicyclist and horseman. In his early years in Hollywood he was a sometime stunt man.
The son of a Danish glove maker, he had an older brother (by a year), Reinald Marius Gottlieb. His parents divorced in 1903. He and his brother apprenticed as machinists for a railroad equipment company during their teens.
Was involved in Children's Theater, or "Dukketeater" (doll theatre) in his early career, which was instigated by his father's love for Toy Theatre, a popular art form throughout Europe during the Victorian era.