
Person
James Olson
Acting · 1930–2022 · Evanston, Illinois, USA
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

Columbo
Paul Rifkin

Robert Montgomery Presents
Capt. Dicer

Murder, She Wrote
Clarence La Rue

Bonanza
Vance

Mannix
1967

Ironside
1967

Little House on the Prairie
Reverend Jacob Danforth

Hawaii Five-O
Mariss

Cannon
1971

Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Filmography
- 1990The Family Man
- 1989Rachel RiverJack Canon
- 1987Jake and the Fatman
- 1986One Police PlazaWhitney Zangline
- 1985North Beach and RawhideBill Cassidy
- 1985CommandoMajor General Franklin Kirby
- 1984Murder, She WroteClarence La Rue
- 1984The ParadeAndy Janacek
- 1983Cave-In!Tom Arlen
- 1982Matt Houston
- 1982Amityville II: The PossessionFather Adamsky
- 1981RagtimeFather
- 1980The Silent LoversVictor Seastrom
- 1979Visions of Christmas Past
- 1978Battlestar GalacticaThane
- 1978No Prince for My CinderellaBurt Williams
- 1978The Runaways
- 1978The Mafu CageDavid
- 1978Project U.F.O.
- 1977The Court-Martial of George Armstrong CusterGen. George Armstrong Custer
- 1977The SpellGlenn
- 1976Law and OrderInsp. Ed Shea
- 1976The Bionic Woman
- 1975Wonder WomanWotan
- 1975Strange New WorldSurgeon
- 1975Man on the OutsideGerald Griffin
- 1975Someone I TouchedSam Hyatt
- 1975The Family Nobody WantedCarl Doss
- 1974The Sex SymbolCalvin Bernard
- 1974The New Land
- 1974Police Woman
- 1974Harry O
- 1974Little House on the PrairieReverend Jacob Danforth
- 1974A Tree Grows in BrooklynMcShane
- 1974ManhunterWalt Hovis
- 1973Legend in GraniteMas McGee
- 1973Police Story
- 1973Barnaby JonesRandall Stone
- 1973Incident on a Dark StreetJoe Dubbs
- 1972Kung FuDamion
- 1972The Streets of San Francisco
- 1972MaudeSen. Bob Myers
- 1972The Rookies
- 1972The Groundstar ConspiracySenator Stanton
- 1971Paper ManArt Fletcher
- 1971McMillan & WifeW.T. Knox
- 1971ColumboPaul Rifkin
- 1971Cannon
- 1971Wild RoversJoe Billings
- 1971The Andromeda StrainDr. Mark Hall
- 1970San Francisco International AirportProfessor Theodore Tragis
- 1970CrescendoGeorges Ryman / Jacques Ryman
- 1970McCloud
- 1969Moon Zero TwoCapt. William H. Kemp
- 1969Medical CenterDave Toland
- 1968The Stalking MoonCavalry Officer (uncredited)
- 1968Lancer
- 1968Hawaii Five-OMariss
- 1968Rachel, RachelNick Kazlik
- 1967Mannix
- 1967Ironside
- 1966An Enemy of the People
- 1966The Three SistersBaron Tuzenbach
- 1965The F.B.I.Sheriff Bill Temple
- 1960Route 66
- 1959BonanzaVance
- 1957Have Gun, Will Travel
- 1957The Strange OneRoger Gatt
- 1956The SharkfightersEns. Harold Duncan
- 1955GunsmokeBede Stalcup
- 1951Hallmark Hall of FameGeneral George A. Custer
- 1950Robert Montgomery PresentsCapt. Dicer
Follow their work on Vescene
Rate films and shows on two axes — quality and fun — and share taste with friends.