Biography
James Olson (8 October 1930 – 17 April 2022) was an American actor. Born in Evanston, Illinois, he graduated from Northwestern University and served as a military policeman in the United States Army from 1952 to 1954.
Olson began with stage work in Chicago and made his Broadway debut in The Young and Beautiful (1955). His credits included J.B. (1958), Romulus (1962), The Three Sisters (1964) and Of Love Remembered (1967). His film debut came in The Sharkfighters (1956). He played Nick Kazlik opposite Joanne Woodward in the 1968 film Rachel, Rachel.
Olson appeared in films including The Andromeda Strain (1971), Wild Rovers (1971), Amityville II: The Possession (1982) and Commando (1985). He was a frequent guest star on television series such as Bonanza, Columbo, Little House on the Prairie, The Bionic Woman, Battlestar Galactica, Wonder Woman and Murder, She Wrote. He retired in the early 1990s.
