Rant #1,517: Larson Passes

 
I am sure that you have heard that another icon of the Baby Boomer generation has passed on.

Jack Larson, 87, who was cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on one of TV's quintessential early series, "The Adventures of Superman," died on Sunday.

Larson, a young actor who had been in a few movies, was reluctant to take on the Jimmy Olsen role, because he thought it would typecast him forever. After being urged by his agent to basically "take the money and run," Larsen agreed to play Olsen, but refused to do any publicity for the show, thinking that it would further solidify him as Olsen and nothing else.

Well, doing publicity or not, he was right; he was typecast forever as Superman's best friend, but what he didn't realize was the lasting popularity of that role, even 60 years later.

Larson played Olsen during the six season run of the show, and would have played it into its seventh season if George Reeves, who played Superman, had not died. Larsen, often asked about Reeves' plight, stated that he thought the actor committed suicide, although the case has been put through a magnifying glass since 1959, with many claiming that Reeves was murdered by the mob.

Anyway, with the popularity of the show, Larson was asked to play Jimmy Olsen in his own series, but he refused the role, but he found that few other roles were open to him. That is when he went more into the background, as a writer and producer.

He teamed with James Bridges on a number of projects, and he also became a well-known script doctor, fixing up scripts for better presentation.

His most famous script doctoring effort might have been "The China Syndrome," a film with Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda that won wide acclaim.

Larson and Bridges collaborated on a number of projects, but their collaboration went way beyond entertainment. They were partners in life, and Larsen was one of the few openly gay Hollywood types during the 1950s through the 1990s, when being openly gay was often a death knell to a career in Hollywood in any role.

Whatever the case, even though he was typecast as Olsen, the one thing that Larson didn't foresee is how iconic his character, and that TV series, went on to become.

He eventually accepted his "plight," and often spoke about his role, Reeves, and the TV show.

He actually had some bit appearances as Olsen, or as a character related to the original show, in a number of more recent Superman-related projects, and he occasionally appeared as something other than Olsen in a few TV series, including "Law and Order."

Larson also appeared in the first Superman movie with Christopher Reeve, but if you blinked, you probably missed him and Noel Neill, the Superman TV show's second, and most popular, Lois Lane.

Larson also had a nearly life-long friendship with Neill, and he often appeared with her in films and other avenues related to the Superman TV show.

Yes, this guy lived the life, and his own life would make for a "super" movie, I always thought.

So here's to Larson, who was correct in assuming that he would forever be typecast as Jimmy Olsen, but never had a clue that this would end up being the blessing that it became.

And as a sidelight, yes, Neill and her predecessor, Phyllis Coates, are both still alive and well.

R.I.P. Jack Larson. You helped make my childhood the great time that it was.

I will be taking the day off tomorrow for Yom Kippur, so I will speak to you again on Thursday.

To those who celebrate, have an easy fast and a great New Year.