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

Jake and the Fatman 1987 ★ 6.2
Murder, She Wrote 1984 ★ 7.5
American Playhouse 1982 ★ 6.6
Matt Houston 1982 ★ 6.3
Battlestar Galactica 1978 ★ 7.1
The Bionic Woman 1976 ★ 7.0
Little House on the Prairie 1974 ★ 8.0
Police Woman 1974 ★ 6.4
Barnaby Jones 1973 ★ 7.0
The Rookies 1972 ★ 6.9
The Streets of San Francisco 1972 ★ 7.0
Columbo 1971 ★ 8.1
Cannon 1971 ★ 6.7
McCloud 1970 ★ 7.2
Medical Center 1969 ★ 6.4
Hawaii Five-O 1968 ★ 7.2
Ironside 1967 ★ 6.9
Mannix 1967 ★ 6.8
The F.B.I. 1965 ★ 5.6
Route 66 1960 ★ 6.7
Bonanza 1959 ★ 7.5
Have Gun, Will Travel 1957 ★ 7.3
Gunsmoke 1955 ★ 6.7
Robert Montgomery Presents 1950 ★ 6.0