James Olson

James Olson was born on October 8, 1930 in Evanston, Illinois, the son of LeRoy Olson, an engineer. He made his stage debut at age 12 as "Hans Brinker" in the Evanston Children's Theatre production of 'Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates'. He received a BS degree in Speech from Northwestern University before serving in the U.S. Army as a military policeman (M.P.) in 1952 for a two-year stint. A Chicago-based stage actor before moving to New York, the 6'3" Olson studied with Lee Strasberg and made his Broadway debut in 'The Young and Beautiful'. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s he continued to find poignant Broadway roles in 'J.B.' (1958), 'Romulus' (1962), 'The Chinese Prime Minister' (1964), 'The Three Sisters' (1964) and 'Of Love Remembered' (1967). Olson was featured in the 1966 Mary Tyler Moore-Richard Chamberlain musical misfire 'Holly Golightly' (based on the film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)); the ill-fated musical closed before it reached Broadway. Olson debuted on televis