Monday, October 5, 2015

Jimmy Olsen actor Jack Larson passes -He was a gay playwright, too!


 As a Superman and superhero fan, I  (Rob) love and have on dvd the Superman TV shows from the 1950s. They featured George Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman and Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen (and Noel Neill as Lois Lane).I always loved it when he called Perry White, the editor of the Metropolis Daily Planet newspaper, ""Chief!"

One thing I was TOTALLY surprised to learn is that Jack Larson was gay. How cool. Below is the article from the Hollywood Reporter from Sept. 21 about his passing.  - Rob

Gay Playwright & Actor Jack Larson, Best Known As Superman’s Jimmy Olsen, Dies At 87 [VIDEO]

From the Hollywood Reporter:
Jack Larson, forever typecast as the overeager cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman, has died. He was 87. Larson, who later produced several films written and/or directed by his longtime companion, the late Oscar nominee James Bridges, died Sunday at his home in Brentwood, The New York Times reported. Further details of his death were not immediately available. In 1951, Larson signed up to play the hapless Olsen for $250 an episode on Adventures of Superman, the first TV show to feature the Man of Steel from the comics. At the time, he wanted to go to New York to tackle Broadway and didn’t think the series — then one of the few to be filmed, not done live — would amount to anything.
Larson and Bridges met when they were supporting players in the cast of Johnny Trouble (1957), starring Ethel Barrymore in her final film. They later formed a production company, and Larson produced such Bridges films as The Baby Maker (1970), Mike’s Murder (1984), Perfect (1985) and Bright Lights, Big City (1988). Bridges died of cancer in June 1993 at age 57. Larson, who also was close with actor Montgomery Clift until his death in 1966, shared a historical Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home on a Brentwood hillside with Bridges for years. “It was obvious to anyone that since we lived together we were partners,” Larson told the Los Angeles Times in 2011. “We always went places together. We never pretended. I always did what I felt like doing. I never did publicity when I was very popular as Jimmy. The question [about being gay] never came up.”
 VIDEO CLIPS
https://youtu.be/-yUeqIXOh54


Who I am

I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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