An agent assured him the show would probably not be seen as it had no sponsor. However, contrary to his belief, he was popular for his Jimmy Olsen role in the “Adventures of Superman” until now.
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It’s being reported that JACK LARSON has died at the age of 87. To find out more about Jack Larson and the fascinating life that he led, you can read his obituary in The New York Times.
Larson was predeceased by his longtime partner, James Bridges, who died in 1993. The cause was not immediately known, but Howard said Larson had not been ill and “died peacefully with his beloved dog Charlie” nearby. He was the only child of the couple who divorced while he was still young.
He was interested in journalism as a career but was not a stellar student, often ditching class to go bowling.
Larson’s first role was in the 1948 film Fighter Squadron.
Larson played Clark Kent/Superman’s coworker at the Daily Planet for six seasons, from 1952 to 1958.
The 2001 series Smallville had a surprising twist on the Jimmy Olsen character.
“I wouldn’t do a magazine interview, I wouldn’t do anything, because I thought everything I do as Jimmy Olsen publicity is just a further nail in my coffin as an actor”, he said. The series ended following the sudden death of Reeves in 1959.
Eventually Larson returned to acting; one of his last roles, in 2010, was in a Law & Order episode. He was that rarity among TV and film actors as he was a native of Los Angeles. He also wrote librettos for operas such as Virgil Thomson’s “Lord Byron“. The homage to the 1980s Superman films grossed $200 million in the USA, received a mixed reaction (76 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, but only 61 percent audience approval) and did not warrant a sequel.
Born in 1928 in Los Angeles, Larson aspired to be a Broadway actor and playwright.
Larson’s hilltop home in Brentwood was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and was known as the George Sturges House.
Our condolences are with Jack Larson’s family and friends. R.I.P.
He played in “Superboy“, the syndicated series, in 1991.
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In 2006’s Superman Returns, directed by Bryan Singer, Jimmy was played by Sam Huntington.
