James Olson

James Olson

Actor

Evanston, Illinois, USA
October 8, 1930

Biography

James Olson (October 8, 1930 – April 17, 2022) was an American actor. From 1952 until 1954, he was a military policeman in the United States Army. He performed stage work in and around Chicago before his 1956 film debut in The Sharkfighters. 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). He starred alongside Joanne Woodward in the Academy Award nominee for Best Picture Rachel, Rachel in 1968. He made numerous stage, feature film, and TV appearances from the mid-1950s until 1990, when he retired. On television, Olson portrayed Mickey Mantle in The Life of Mickey Mantle. 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; Maude; The Virginian; The Streets of San Francisco; and Cannon. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Olson (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Photo

James Olson 1
James Olson 2

Representative Works

Commando
Commando
6.7
/ English
The Mafu Cage
The Mafu Cage
5.9
/ English
The Stalking Moon
The Stalking Moon
5.9
/ English
Ragtime
Ragtime
7.0
/ English
Manhunter
Manhunter
6.7
/ English
Strange New World
Strange New World
4.2
/ English
Rachel, Rachel
Rachel, Rachel
6.6
/ English
Wild Rovers
Wild Rovers
6.1
/ English
Moon Zero Two
Moon Zero Two
4.9
/ English
One Police Plaza
One Police Plaza
9.0
/ English

Awards and Honors

Critical Favorites

Commando
1985Nominee

Best Performance

Commando

Amityville II: The Possession
1982Nominee

Best Performance

Amityville II: The Possession

The Andromeda Strain
1971Nominee

Best Performance

The Andromeda Strain

Career Highlights

The Mafu Cage
1978Highlight

Best Performance

The Mafu Cage

The Stalking Moon
1968Highlight

Best Performance

The Stalking Moon

Video