James Olson
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| Role: | Thane | |||
| BSG Universe: | Original Series | |||
| Date of Birth: | October 8, 1930 | |||
| Date of Death: | April 17, 2022 | |||
| Age at Death: | 91 | |||
| Nationality: |  USA
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James R. Olson (October 8, 1930 CE―April 17, 2022 CE) was an American actor who portrayed Thane in the Original Series' "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero" two-parter, originally slated to be a movie-of-the-week before the Original Series was converted to a weekly-series.
Olson was known for both his 6 ft., 3 in.[1] rugged stature and deep gravel-toned voice, bringing both his physical and vocal talents to radio, stage and screen throughout the decades.
Olson is better known to most audiences for his role in 1971 CE's genre film The Andromeda Strain and his various guest appearances in television, ranging from Playhouse 90 1960) to Mannix (1969 & 1974) to Bionic Woman (1977), up to his final on-screen role in 1990's Murder, She Wrote.
Biographical Notes
Born in Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A., Olson graduated from Evanston Township High School and Northwestern University. During his childhood, he recorded radio jingles in Chicago[2] and made his first stage debut (at age 12) in the Evanston Children's Theater production Hans Brinkler and the Silver Skates, later transitioning in theater fully during his undergraduate period at Northwestern.
Following his service in the U.S. Army as a Military Police officer from 1952 to 1954 CE[1], he began his career with his debut in the 1956 film The Sharkfighters. Throughout his career, he appeared in numerous television series, including Have Gun - Will Travel, Mannix, Hawaii Five-O, McCloud, Columbo, and Little House on the Prairie.
His breakthrough role was in 1968's Oscar-nominated film Rachel, Rachel, produced and directed by Paul Newman and starring Newman's wife Joanne Woodward. Olson portrayed Nick Kazlik, the foil who romances and later rejects Woodward's sexually-repressed schoolteacher character.[3]
Olson first acted with Lorne Greene in two episodes of Bonanza, "Sweet Annie Laurie" (1969) and "Ambush and Rio Lobo" (1972), and later with Richard Hatch on The Streets of San Francisco in the 1976 episode "No Minor Voices," later reuniting with both actors on 1978's Battlestar Galactica for the two-parter "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero."
He later had a recurring role on Glen A. Larson's 1979's B.J. and the Bear and The Misadventures of Sherrif Lobo, portraying the criminal mastermind Paul Vane over three episodes.
During the last decade of his career, Olson appeared the 1985 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Commando.
His final on-screen role was as Clarance La Rue in Murder, She Wrote's 1990 episode "A Body to Die For."
Following his retirement, he remained an active aficionado of film and theater, regularly travelling to both London and New York up until his passing.[2]
Never having married, Olson passed away at the age of 91 in his Malibu, California home on April 17, 2022 CE from natural causes. Surviving him are his nieces Susan Baker and Robin Olson, nephew David James Olson, their spouses and three grandnephews.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "James Olson, "Promising" Young Actor", The Boston Globe, 17 February 1957.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Malibu Times (28 April 2022). Obituary: James R. Olson (backup available on Archive.org) (in English).
- ↑ Greg Evans. "James Olson Dies: ‘Rachel, Rachel’, ‘The Andromeda Strain’ Actor Was 91", Deadline.com, 10 May 2022.
External Links
- James Olson article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.