Nancy Ann Olson (born July 14, 1928) is an American retired actress. She made her film debut Canadian Pacific (1949), before gaining prominence as Betty Schaefer in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950), for which she earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later co-starred with William Holden in three more films Union Station (1950), Force of Arms (1951), and Submarine Command (1951).
Olson requested to be released from her contract with Paramount after marrying lyricist and playwright Alan Jay Lerner, whose musical My Fair Lady was dedicated to her. She later reached a new generation of audiences through several Walt Disney productions, including Pollyanna (1960) The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and its sequel, Son of Flubber (1963), and appeared in disaster film Airport 1975 (1974) which reunited her with her Sunset Boulevard co-star Gloria Swanson. She later retired from acting in the mid-1980s, with only rare screen appearances afterward. Olson is the earliest surviving Academy Award-nominee and one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Early life Olson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 14, 1928, and raised there, along with her brother, David. Her parents were Evelyn Bertha (née Bergstrom), who was of Swedish descent, and Henry John Olson, a physician See also: Livingston, Nancy Olson (2022). A Front Row Seat: An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour. Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press. p. 185. . "The Bergstrom family. [...]. Top row, left to right: Nancy's mother, Evelyn Bergstrom; Edith Bergstrom; and Ethel Bergstrom." "United States Census, 1940", database with images, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:K72M-65Y : Wed Jul 12 17:13:05 UTC 2023), Entry for Henry John Olson and Evelyn Olson, 1940. "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP6Q-J72 : 26 November 2014), Evelyn Bertha Olson, 25 Feb 1979; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento. of Norwegian descent.
Olson's elementary and secondary education was in Milwaukee schools. When her family moved to California, she transferred to UCLA after a year at the University of Wisconsin. Her performance in a play at UCLA attracted the attention of a talent scout who had attended to observe the male lead.
Career Olson was signed to a film contract by Paramount Pictures in 1948, and after a few supporting roles, producers began to consider her for more prominent parts. She was up for the role of Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's film Samson and Delilah (1949), for which Olson later said she was not suited. She was passed over in favor of Hedy Lamarr.
Her first big role came in Canadian Pacific (also 1949) with Randolph Scott, then Billy Wilder cast her for his upcoming project. In Sunset Boulevard (1950), she played Betty Schaefer, for which she gained an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her pairing with William Holden was considered a success, and she appeared with him in three other films (Union Station, Force of Arms, and Submarine Command, the second and third released the following year), but none repeated their success in Sunset Boulevard.
Olson's success in Sunset Boulevard also led to her being cast in the September 15, 1950, episode of the radio program Dimension X, titled "Hello Tomorrow".
Her other film credits include several films for Warner Bros., such as Big Jim McLain (1952), So Big (1953), and Battle Cry (1955).
Olson moved to New York City in the late 1950s and appeared on Broadway in three plays; The Tunnel of Love, Send Me No Flowers, and Mary, Mary.
Olson made several appearances in films for the Walt Disney studio. The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963) paired her with Fred MacMurray and were popular with movie-goers. She also appeared alongside Hayley Mills in Pollyanna (1960), Glenn Ford in Smith! (1969), and Dean Jones in Snowball Express (1972).
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Olson did guest roles on television. Olson guest-starred on the television series The Big Valley playing Ron Howard's mother in the December 1, 1965, episode titled "Night of the Wolf". Olson is the only guest starring on The Big Valley to marry the character Nick Barkley.
Olson has been retired since the mid-1980s, although she made a brief, uncredited appearance in Flubber, the 1997 remake of The Absent-Minded Professor, and Dumbbells (2014).
In 2022, Olson released a memoir, A Front Row Seat: An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour.
Personal life In 1950, Olson became the third wife of lyricist Alan Jay Lerner. They had two daughters, Liza and Jennifer. They divorced in 1957.
In 1962, she married long-time Capitol Records executive Alan W. Livingston, best known for creating Bozo the Clown and for signing The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and others to Capitol. He died in 2009; they had one son, Christopher.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1949Canadian PacificCecille Gautier1950Sunset BoulevardBetty Schaefer Nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress1950Union StationJoyce Willecombe1950Mr. MusicKatherine Holbrook1951Force of ArmsLieutenant Eleanor MacKay1951Submarine CommandCarol1952Big Jim McLainNancy Vallon1953So BigDallas O'Mara1954Katie Brannigan1955Battle CryMrs. Pat Rogers1960PollyannaNancy Furman1961Betsy Carlisle1963Son of FlubberElizabeth "Betsy" Brainard1969Smith!Norah Smith1972Snowball ExpressSue Baxter1974Airport 1975Mrs. Abbott1982Making LoveChristine1987Sparky's Magic PianovoiceVideo1997FlubberFord Secretary2014DumbbellsBianca Cummings
Television Year Title Role Notes1954Ford TheatreKitty O'Dareepisode: "For the Love of Kitty"1954Lux Video TheatreLisaepisode: "Spent in Silence"1954Gwen Cavendishepisode: "The Royal Family"1955Producers' ShowcasePeggy Dayepisode: "The Woman"1956Ford Star JubileeJudithepisode: "High Tor"1958Joyce Richmondepisode: "Second Chance"1958General Electric TheaterJudith Gayepisode: "The Last Rodeo"1959Alfred Hitchcock PresentsJan ManningSeason 4 Episode 17: "Total Loss"1960StartimePeggy Thomasepisode: "The Greatest Man Alive"1961Alcoa PremiereAmber Baringepisode: "Family Outing"1963ChanningMrs. Landonepisode: "Collision Course"1965Julia Jenkinsepisode: "Night of the Wolf"1971Ann Lathamepisode: "Beware of the Watchdog"1972GunsmokeHenrietta Donavanepisode: "Yankton"1972Police SurgeonJudgeepisode: "Death Holds the Scale"1973Love StoryMrs. Rossepisode: "Mirabelle's Summer"1974BanacekLouise Merrickepisode: "Now You See Me, Now You Don't"1975Jeannie Morrisepisode: "Web of Lies"1976Kingston: ConfidentialJessica FrazierTV series1977Barnaby JonesThelma Thompsonepisode: "Testament of Power"1984Paper DollsMarjorie HarperMain role, 13 episodes2010Big LoveKatherineepisode: "Strange Bedfellows"
References
External links
Interview with Nancy Olson Livingston at Classic Film & TV Cafe, 5 September 2022