James Olson (actor)
Life and career
Olson was born in Evanston, Illinois,[1] and graduated from Northwestern University. From 1952 until 1954, he was a military policeman in the United States Army.[2]
He performed stage work in and around Chicago before his 1956 film debut in The Sharkfighters.[3] His Broadway credits include Of Love Remembered (1967), Slapstick Tragedy (1966), The Three Sisters (1964), The Chinese Prime Minister (1964), Romulus (1962), J.B. (1958), The Sin of Pat Muldoon (1957), and The Young and Beautiful (1955).[1]
He starred alongside Joanne Woodward in the Academy Award-nominated best picture Rachel, Rachel[4] in 1968. He made numerous stage, feature film and TV appearances from the mid-1950s until the early 1990s.
On television, Olson portrayed Mickey Mantle in The Life of Mickey Mantle.[2] His other TV appearances included guest roles on scores of shows, including episodes of Kraft Television Theatre; Ironside; Murder, She Wrote; Little House on the Prairie; Hawaii Five-O; Battlestar Galactica; Lou Grant; The Bionic Woman; Wonder Woman; Mannix; Bonanza; Have Gun-Will Travel; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Police Woman; Barnaby Jones; The New Land; Columbo ("Étude in Black"); Maude; The Virginian; and The Streets of San Francisco ("The First Day of Forever").
Selected filmography
- The Sharkfighters (1956) - Ens. Harold Duncan
- The Strange One (1957) - Roger Gatt
- The Three Sisters (1966) - Baron Tuzenbach
- Rachel, Rachel (1968) - Nick Kazlik
- The Stalking Moon (1968) - Cavalry Officer (uncredited)
- Moon Zero Two (1969) - Kemp
- Crescendo (1970) - Georges Ryman / Jacques Ryman
- The Andromeda Strain (1971) - Dr. Mark Hall
- Wild Rovers (1971) - Joe Billings
- Paper Man (1971) - Art Fletcher
- Columbo: Etude in Black (1972, TV movie) - Paul Rifkin
- The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972) - Sen. Stanton
- The Missiles of October (1974, TV movie) - McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant for National Security Affairs
- The Spell (1977) - Glenn
- The Mafu Cage (1978) - David
- Ragtime (1981) - Father
- Amityville II: The Possession (1982) - Father Adamsky
- Cave-In! (1983) - Tom Arlen
- Commando (1985) - Major General Franklin Kirby
- Rachel River (1987) - Jack Canon
References
- "("James Olson" search results)". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- "James Olson, 'Promising' Young Actor". The Boston Globe. February 17, 1957. p. 48. Retrieved 9 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- BFI Film Details
- "James Olson Enjoys Life". The Pittsburgh Press. November 26, 1969. p. 14. Retrieved 9 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- James Olson at IMDb
- James Olson at the TCM Movie Database
- James Olson at the Internet Broadway Database
- James Olson at Internet Off-Broadway Database
- James Olson at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection