James Olson(1930-2022)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
James Olson was born on October 8, 1930 in Evanston, Illinois, the son of LeRoy Olson, an engineer. He made his stage debut at age 12 as "Hans Brinker" in the Evanston Children's Theatre production of 'Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates'. He received a BS degree in Speech from Northwestern University before serving in the U.S. Army as a military policeman (M.P.) in 1952 for a two-year stint.
A Chicago-based stage actor before moving to New York, the 6'3" Olson studied with Lee Strasberg and made his Broadway debut in 'The Young and Beautiful'. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s he continued to find poignant Broadway roles in 'J.B.' (1958), 'Romulus' (1962), 'The Chinese Prime Minister' (1964), 'The Three Sisters' (1964) and 'Of Love Remembered' (1967). Olson was featured in the 1966 Mary Tyler Moore-Richard Chamberlain musical misfire 'Holly Golightly' (based on the film Diamants sur canapé (1961)); the ill-fated musical closed before it reached Broadway.
Olson debuted on television as the title character in The Life of Mickey Mantle (1956). His film career began with the forgettable action drama Opération requins (1956) but he later appeared in better roles in the film noir drama Demain ce seront des hommes (1957) and the Chekhov classic The Three Sisters (1966) (as Baron Tuzenbach, his Broadway stage role). He displayed an understated power in his performance as Joanne Woodward's suitor in the Oscar-nominated picture Rachel, Rachel (1968), which garnered him the best reviews of his film career. This was followed by a prime scientist role in the classic sci-fi thriller Le mystère Andromède (1971). He continued onstage in roles in 'The Glass Menagerie', 'The Crucible', 'A Safe Place', 'Twelve Dreams', and 'Winterplay'.
He had numerous TV-movie roles in L'homme de papier (1971), Incident on a Dark Street (1973), L'arbre de ma jeunesse (1974), The Sex Symbol (1974), The Missiles of October (1974), The Family Nobody Wanted (1975), Someone I Touched (1975), Strange New World (1975), Law and Order (1976), and The Spell (1977), and guest and/or recurring roles on such TV series as Bonanza (1959), Docteur Marcus Welby (1969), Médecins d'aujourd'hui (1969), Police Story (1973), Sergent Anderson (1974), Sur la piste du crime (1965), Gunsmoke (1955), Mannix (1967), Harry O (1973), Hawaii police d'état (1968), Maude (1972), Barnaby Jones (1973), Super Jaimie (1976), and Galactica (1978).
Major stardom proved elusive, however. Olson wrapped up his career with the films Ragtime (1981), Amityville II : Le Possédé (1982), Commando (1985) and Rachel River (1987) and 1990 TV appearances on The Family Man (1990) and Arabesque (1984), before retiring.
A Chicago-based stage actor before moving to New York, the 6'3" Olson studied with Lee Strasberg and made his Broadway debut in 'The Young and Beautiful'. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s he continued to find poignant Broadway roles in 'J.B.' (1958), 'Romulus' (1962), 'The Chinese Prime Minister' (1964), 'The Three Sisters' (1964) and 'Of Love Remembered' (1967). Olson was featured in the 1966 Mary Tyler Moore-Richard Chamberlain musical misfire 'Holly Golightly' (based on the film Diamants sur canapé (1961)); the ill-fated musical closed before it reached Broadway.
Olson debuted on television as the title character in The Life of Mickey Mantle (1956). His film career began with the forgettable action drama Opération requins (1956) but he later appeared in better roles in the film noir drama Demain ce seront des hommes (1957) and the Chekhov classic The Three Sisters (1966) (as Baron Tuzenbach, his Broadway stage role). He displayed an understated power in his performance as Joanne Woodward's suitor in the Oscar-nominated picture Rachel, Rachel (1968), which garnered him the best reviews of his film career. This was followed by a prime scientist role in the classic sci-fi thriller Le mystère Andromède (1971). He continued onstage in roles in 'The Glass Menagerie', 'The Crucible', 'A Safe Place', 'Twelve Dreams', and 'Winterplay'.
He had numerous TV-movie roles in L'homme de papier (1971), Incident on a Dark Street (1973), L'arbre de ma jeunesse (1974), The Sex Symbol (1974), The Missiles of October (1974), The Family Nobody Wanted (1975), Someone I Touched (1975), Strange New World (1975), Law and Order (1976), and The Spell (1977), and guest and/or recurring roles on such TV series as Bonanza (1959), Docteur Marcus Welby (1969), Médecins d'aujourd'hui (1969), Police Story (1973), Sergent Anderson (1974), Sur la piste du crime (1965), Gunsmoke (1955), Mannix (1967), Harry O (1973), Hawaii police d'état (1968), Maude (1972), Barnaby Jones (1973), Super Jaimie (1976), and Galactica (1978).
Major stardom proved elusive, however. Olson wrapped up his career with the films Ragtime (1981), Amityville II : Le Possédé (1982), Commando (1985) and Rachel River (1987) and 1990 TV appearances on The Family Man (1990) and Arabesque (1984), before retiring.
