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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

79

Gender

Male

Birthday

1930-10-08

Day of Death

2022-04-17 (92 years old)

Place of Birth

Evanston, Illinois, USA

Also Known As

James Olson

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.

Known For

Acting

The Andromeda Strain

1971

The Andromeda Strain

as

Dr. Mark Hall

The Stalking Moon

1968

The Stalking Moon

as

Cavalry Officer (uncredited)

Ragtime

1981

Ragtime

as

Father

Moon Zero Two

1969

Moon Zero Two

as

Capt. William H. Kemp

Rachel, Rachel

1968

Rachel, Rachel

as

Nick Kazlik

Crescendo

1970

Crescendo

as

Georges Ryman / Jacques Ryman

The Groundstar Conspiracy

1972

The Groundstar Conspiracy

as

Senator Stanton

The Sharkfighters

1956

The Sharkfighters

as

Ens. Harold Duncan

No Prince for My Cinderella

1978

No Prince for My Cinderella

as

Burt Williams

Manhunter

1974

Manhunter

as

Walt Hovis

Cave-In!

1983

Cave-In!

as

Tom Arlen

The Sex Symbol

1974

The Sex Symbol

as

Calvin Bernard

Someone I Touched

1975

Someone I Touched

as

Sam Hyatt

Strange New World

1975

Strange New World

as

Surgeon

The Mafu Cage

1978

The Mafu Cage

as

David

Man on the Outside

1975

Man on the Outside

as

Gerald Griffin

The Spell

1977

The Spell

as

Glenn

The Silent Lovers

1980

The Silent Lovers

as

Victor Seastrom

The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer

1977

The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer

as

Gen. George Armstrong Custer

Rachel River

1988

Rachel River

as

Jack Canon

Commando

1985

Commando

as

Major General Franklin Kirby

North Beach and Rawhide

1985

North Beach and Rawhide

as

Bill Cassidy

Legend in Granite

1973

Legend in Granite

as

Mas McGee

Wild Rovers

1971

Wild Rovers

as

Joe Billings

The Parade

1984

The Parade

as

Andy Janacek

The Three Sisters

1966

The Three Sisters

as

Baron Tuzenbach

Paper Man

1971

Paper Man

as

Art Fletcher

One Police Plaza

1986

One Police Plaza

as

Whitney Zangline

Amityville II: The Possession

1982

Amityville II: The Possession

as

Father Adamsky

Law and Order

1976

Law and Order

as

Insp. Ed Shea

The Strange One

1957

The Strange One

as

Roger Gatt

Columbo

Columbo

as

Paul Rifkin

The F.B.I.

The F.B.I.

as

Sheriff Bill Temple

Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke

as

Bede Stalcup

Hallmark Hall of Fame

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as

General George A. Custer

The F.B.I.

The F.B.I.

as

George Breen

Hawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O

as

Bernie Brown

Hawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O

as

Travis Marshall

Hawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O

as

Dr. Kenneth Ames

Mannix

Mannix

as

Donald Jordan

Ironside

Ironside

as

Marvin Bosner

McMillan & Wife

McMillan & Wife

as

W.T. Knox

Bonanza

Bonanza

as

Vance

Barnaby Jones

Barnaby Jones

as

Randall Stone

Murder, She Wrote

Murder, She Wrote

as

Clarence La Rue

The F.B.I.

The F.B.I.

as

Carl Slovich

Medical Center

Medical Center

as

Dave Toland

Kung Fu

Kung Fu

as

Damion

Production

Crew

Directing