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James Olson

Personal Information

Known ForActing
GenderMale
Born / DiedOct 8, 1930 (Died at 92)
Zodiac Sign♎Libra
Place of BirthEvanston, Illinois, USA
Career Span1950 – 2022
Known Credits71 Titles
Official Links
ActingPopularity Score 1.8

James Olson

Total Works

71

35 movies • 36 shows

Avg Rating

6.7 / 10

across rated releases

Box Office

—

worldwide gross

Global Reach

#2

TMDB star index

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.

Signature Roles & Milestones

Commando
6.8
Commando
1985•movie
as Major General Franklin Kirby
Little House on the Prairie
8.0
as Reverend Jacob Danforth
Columbo
8.1
Columbo
1971•series
as Paul Rifkin
The Andromeda Strain
7.0
as Dr. Mark Hall

Full Filmography & Credits

Showing 71 titles featuring James Olson

Commando
6.8
Commando
1985•movie

as Major General Franklin Kirby

Little House on the Prairie
8.0
1 eps

as Reverend Jacob Danforth

Columbo
8.1
1 eps
Columbo
1971•series

as Paul Rifkin

The Andromeda Strain
7.0

as Dr. Mark Hall

Bonanza
7.5
1 eps
Bonanza
1959•series

as Vance

Wonder Woman
7.0
1 eps
Wonder Woman
1975•series

as Wotan

Murder, She Wrote
7.5
1 eps
Murder, She Wrote
1984•series

as Clarence La Rue

Amityville II: The Possession
5.7

as Father Adamsky

Battlestar Galactica
7.1
2 eps

as Thane

The Bionic Woman
7.0
2 eps
The Bionic Woman
1976•series
Kung Fu
7.7
1 eps
Kung Fu
1972•series

as Damion

Ragtime
7.0
Ragtime
1981•movie

as Father

Hawaii Five-O
7.2
1 eps
Hawaii Five-O
1969•series

as Mariss

Gunsmoke
6.7
1 eps
Gunsmoke
1955•series

as Bede Stalcup

The Streets of San Francisco
7.1
2 eps
The Stalking Moon
5.9
The Stalking Moon
1968•movie

as Cavalry Officer (uncredited)

Rachel, Rachel
6.6
Rachel, Rachel
1968•movie

as Nick Kazlik

Ironside
6.8
1 eps
Ironside
1967•series
Mannix
6.9
1 eps
Mannix
1967•series
Jake and the Fatman
6.2
1 eps
Jake and the Fatman
1987•series
McCloud
7.2
1 eps
McCloud
1970•series
Wild Rovers
6.1
Wild Rovers
1971•movie

as Joe Billings

Have Gun, Will Travel
7.3
1 eps
Cannon
6.7
2 eps
Cannon
1971•series
Moon Zero Two
4.9
Moon Zero Two
1969•movie

as Capt. William H. Kemp

Maude
6.9
1 eps
Maude
1972•series

as Sen. Bob Myers

The Spell
5.0
The Spell
1977•movie

as Glenn

Police Woman
6.4
1 eps
Police Woman
1974•series
Barnaby Jones
7.0
1 eps
Barnaby Jones
1973•series

as Randall Stone

The Mafu Cage
5.9
The Mafu Cage
1978•movie

as David

Crescendo
5.2
Crescendo
1970•movie

as Georges Ryman / Jacques Ryman

Matt Houston
6.3
1 eps
Matt Houston
1982•series
McMillan & Wife
6.9
1 eps
McMillan & Wife
1971•series

as W.T. Knox

The Strange One
6.5
The Strange One
1957•movie

as Roger Gatt

The F.B.I.
5.6
1 eps
The F.B.I.
1965•series

as Sheriff Bill Temple

The Groundstar Conspiracy
6.3

as Senator Stanton

The Rookies
6.9
2 eps
The Rookies
1972•series
Police Story
7.0
1 eps
Police Story
1973•series
Route 66
6.7
1 eps
Route 66
1960•series
Strange New World
4.2
Strange New World
1975•movie

as Surgeon

Paper Man
6.1
Paper Man
1971•movie

as Art Fletcher

Medical Center
6.4
1 eps
Medical Center
1969•series

as Dave Toland

Harry O
5.2
1 eps
Harry O
1974•series
The Sharkfighters
5.7
The Sharkfighters
1956•movie

as Ens. Harold Duncan

Someone I Touched
5.1
Someone I Touched
1975•movie

as Sam Hyatt

Hallmark Hall of Fame
8.8
1 eps

as General George A. Custer

Robert Montgomery Presents
6.0
1 eps

as Capt. Dicer

American Playhouse
6.6
1 eps
American Playhouse
1982•series

as Jack Canon

Cave-In!
4.6
Cave-In!
1983•movie

as Tom Arlen

Incident on a Dark Street
5.3

as Joe Dubbs

Rachel River
7.3
Rachel River
1989•movie

as Jack Canon

Lancer
5.6
1 eps
Lancer
1968•series
The Family Nobody Wanted
6.4

as Carl Doss

The Sex Symbol
4.0
The Sex Symbol
1974•movie

as Calvin Bernard

Project U.F.O.
7.0
1 eps
Project U.F.O.
1978•series
Manhunter
6.7
Manhunter
1974•movie

as Walt Hovis

The Silent Lovers
4.7
The Silent Lovers
1980•movie

as Victor Seastrom

The Family Man
7.5
1 eps
The Family Man
1990•series
The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer
2.0

as Gen. George Armstrong Custer

North Beach and Rawhide
6.0

as Bill Cassidy

The Parade
4.5
The Parade
1984•movie

as Andy Janacek

The Three Sisters
7.5
The Three Sisters
1966•movie

as Baron Tuzenbach

The Runaways
6.5
1 eps
The Runaways
1978•series
Man on the Outside
8.0
Man on the Outside
1975•movie

as Gerald Griffin

An Enemy of the People
10.0
One Police Plaza
9.0
One Police Plaza
1986•movie

as Whitney Zangline

Law and Order
8.0
Law and Order
1976•movie

as Insp. Ed Shea

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
10.0

as McShane

San Francisco International Airport
7.0
1 eps

as Professor Theodore Tragis

No Prince for My Cinderella

as Burt Williams