Jack Edward Larson (February 8, 1928 â€" September 20, 2015) was an
American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer best known for
his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the
television series Adventures of Superman.Larson was born on February
8, 1928 in Los Angeles, the son of Anita (Calicoff), a Western Union
clerk, and George Larson, a milk truck driver. His father was of
English and Swedish descent and his mother was from a Jewish family
(from Germany and Russia). He was reared in Pasadena. He graduated
from Montebello High School in 1945, aged 17 and at times claimed 1933
as his birth year.Larson found the role of cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on
The Adventures of Superman to be a handicap, because he became
typecast as a naive young man. This caused him to do little acting
after the show ended in 1958, and he turned to writing and production,
with an output that included plays, a libretto, texts for classical
music, and movies such as The Baby Maker. In later years his attitude
towards the Jimmy Olsen role warmed, as he focused more on the love
people had for the character. Larson was always willing to sit for
interviews about the Superman series and his connection to it, and
began having a number of cameos that paid subtle tribute to his
character and the series, including a 1991 episode of the TV series
Superboy, alongside Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in Adventures of
Superman, and an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of
Superman as an aged Jimmy Olsen in the episode "Brutal Youth", first
broadcast on October 20, 1996.Larson had a cameo in a late-1990s
American Express card commercial, The Adventures of Seinfeld &
Superman. He and Neill provided commentary on several Adventures of
Superman episodes for the January 2006 DVD release of the 1953 season,
and in 2006, he appeared in Bryan Singer's film Superman Returns in a
cameo role as "Bo the Bartender". Bo wore a bowtie, a trademark of
Larson's depiction of Jimmy Olsen. Larson and Neill appeared together
at the premiere of Superman Returns.
American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer best known for
his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the
television series Adventures of Superman.Larson was born on February
8, 1928 in Los Angeles, the son of Anita (Calicoff), a Western Union
clerk, and George Larson, a milk truck driver. His father was of
English and Swedish descent and his mother was from a Jewish family
(from Germany and Russia). He was reared in Pasadena. He graduated
from Montebello High School in 1945, aged 17 and at times claimed 1933
as his birth year.Larson found the role of cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on
The Adventures of Superman to be a handicap, because he became
typecast as a naive young man. This caused him to do little acting
after the show ended in 1958, and he turned to writing and production,
with an output that included plays, a libretto, texts for classical
music, and movies such as The Baby Maker. In later years his attitude
towards the Jimmy Olsen role warmed, as he focused more on the love
people had for the character. Larson was always willing to sit for
interviews about the Superman series and his connection to it, and
began having a number of cameos that paid subtle tribute to his
character and the series, including a 1991 episode of the TV series
Superboy, alongside Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in Adventures of
Superman, and an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of
Superman as an aged Jimmy Olsen in the episode "Brutal Youth", first
broadcast on October 20, 1996.Larson had a cameo in a late-1990s
American Express card commercial, The Adventures of Seinfeld &
Superman. He and Neill provided commentary on several Adventures of
Superman episodes for the January 2006 DVD release of the 1953 season,
and in 2006, he appeared in Bryan Singer's film Superman Returns in a
cameo role as "Bo the Bartender". Bo wore a bowtie, a trademark of
Larson's depiction of Jimmy Olsen. Larson and Neill appeared together
at the premiere of Superman Returns.
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