Menu
James Olson

James Olson

Known For Acting
Birthday Oct 08, 1930
Died Apr 17, 2022 (91)
Birthplace Evanston, Illinois, USA
Popularity 0.9 (history)
Updated Aug 08, 2025
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
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

Headshots

Profile
Profile
Filmography

Rachel River

Rachel River

1988

as Jack Canon

One Police Plaza

One Police Plaza

1986

as Whitney Zangline

North Beach and Rawhide

North Beach and Rawhide

1985

as Bill Cassidy

Commando

Commando

1985

as Major General Franklin Kirby

The Parade

The Parade

1984

as Andy Janacek

Cave-In!

Cave-In!

1983

as Tom Arlen

Amityville II: The Possession

Amityville II: The Possession

1982

as Father Adamsky

Ragtime

Ragtime

1981

as Father

The Silent Lovers

The Silent Lovers

1980

as Victor Seastrom

The Mafu Cage

The Mafu Cage

1978

as David

No Prince for My Cinderella

No Prince for My Cinderella

1978

as Burt Williams

The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer

The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer

1977

as Gen. George Armstrong Custer

The Spell

The Spell

1977

as Glen

Law and Order

Law and Order

1976

as Insp. Ed Shea

Someone I Touched

Someone I Touched

1975

as Sam Hyatt

Man on the Outside

Man on the Outside

1975

as Gerald Griffin

The Family Nobody Wanted

The Family Nobody Wanted

1975

as Carl Doss

Strange New World

Strange New World

1975

as Surgeon

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

1974

as McShane

The Sex Symbol

The Sex Symbol

1974

as Calvin Bernard

Manhunter

Manhunter

1974

as Walt Hovis

Incident on a Dark Street

Incident on a Dark Street

1973

as Joe Dubbs

Legend in Granite

Legend in Granite

1973

as Mas McGee

The Groundstar Conspiracy

The Groundstar Conspiracy

1972

as Senator Stanton

The Andromeda Strain

The Andromeda Strain

1971

as Dr. Mark Hall

Paper Man

Paper Man

1971

as Art Fletcher

Wild Rovers

Wild Rovers

1971

as Joe Billings

Crescendo

Crescendo

1970

as Georges Ryman / Jacques Ryman

Moon Zero Two

Moon Zero Two

1969

as Capt. William H. Kemp

Rachel, Rachel

Rachel, Rachel

1968

as Nick Kazlik

The Stalking Moon

The Stalking Moon

1968

as Cavalry Officer (uncredited)

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters

1966

as Baron Tuzenbach

The Strange One

The Strange One

1957

as Roger Gatt

The Sharkfighters

The Sharkfighters

1956

as Ens. Harold Duncan

No data available

No data available

No data available

Organization Category Movie
Television Credits

Battlestar Galactica

as Thane

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 17, 1978

Columbo

as Paul Rifkin

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 15, 1971

The F.B.I.

as Sheriff Bill Temple

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1965

Hawaii Five-O

as Mariss

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1968

Gunsmoke

as Bede Stalcup

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Wonder Woman

as Wotan

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 07, 1975

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as General George A. Custer

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 24, 1951

Robert Montgomery Presents

as Capt. Dicer

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 30, 1950

The F.B.I.

as George Breen

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1965

Hawaii Five-O

as Stoner

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1968

Hawaii Five-O

as Bernie Brown

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1968

Hawaii Five-O

as Travis Marshall

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1968

Hawaii Five-O

as Dr. Kenneth Ames

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1968

Mannix

as Donald Jordan

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 16, 1967

Ironside

as Marvin Bosner

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 28, 1967

McMillan & Wife

as W.T. Knox

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 29, 1971

Bonanza

as Vance

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 12, 1959

The Streets of San Francisco

as Dr. Jonas Rabb

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 23, 1972

Barnaby Jones

as Randall Stone

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 28, 1973

Murder, She Wrote

as Clarence La Rue

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 30, 1984

The F.B.I.

as Carl Slovich

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1965

Medical Center

as Dave Toland

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 24, 1969

The Rookies

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 11, 1972

The Bionic Woman

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Jan 14, 1976

The Streets of San Francisco

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 23, 1972

Cannon

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 14, 1971

Kung Fu

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 14, 1972

Route 66

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 07, 1960

Maude

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 12, 1972

Mannix

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 16, 1967

Jake and the Fatman

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 26, 1987

Ironside

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 28, 1967

Harry O

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 12, 1974

Have Gun, Will Travel

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 14, 1957

Police Woman

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 13, 1974

Police Story

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 20, 1973

Project U.F.O.

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Feb 19, 1978

Lancer

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 24, 1968

McCloud

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Feb 17, 1970

Matt Houston

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 26, 1982

The New Land

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 14, 1974

The Runaways

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Apr 27, 1978

The Family Man

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 11, 1990

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 7 12 4
2024 7 17 31 5
2024 8 13 33 6
2024 9 8 22 2
2024 10 3 5 1
2024 11 4 6 3
2024 12 5 9 2
2025 1 8 15 2
2025 2 4 9 1
2025 3 4 7 1
2025 5 2 2 1
2025 6 1 1 1
2025 7 0 0 0
2025 8 2 13 0
2025 9 0 0 0
2025 10 1 1 0

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
No trending metrics available.

Return to Top