Happy Birthday Jack Larson!

Happy Birthday Jack Larson!

by Armand Vaquer

Today is the birthday of the most popular live-action Jimmy Olsen: Jack Larson.

From Richard Potter:

Jack Larson was born in the Los Angeles Hospital in Los Angeles, California. In his teen years, Jack became interested in acting and remembers that even before he finished classes at Pasadena Junior College, he and Debbie Reynolds signed with Warner Brothers the same week in May 1948. Jack left Warners two years later and appeared in a play called "The Great Man" with Albert Dekker. In September 1950, Jack appeared with Edgar Buchanan in a live television show called Country Editor. Note: Jack gives 1933 as the year birth, but public records indicate he was actually born in 1928.

Jack Larson and George Reeves.

When Jack's agent told him about the Adventures of Superman show in 1951, Jack initially didn't want to do it. But he changed his mind when told, "Take this! Nobody's gonna see it!" But after Adventures of Superman was became a hit when it finally aired in late-1952/early-1953, Jack found himself mobbed at restaurants and in the subway by young fans of the show.

Above, Jack Larson speaks at Noel Neill's 85th birthday luncheon in Studio City in 2005.

When the show ended in 1957, Jack found himself hopelessly typecast and so he decided to change careers. Jack became a successful playwright and movie producer (Urban Cowboy was one of his movies).



In his later years, Jack came to terms with his Jimmy Olsen fame and embraced it. He often says with a laugh, "I could win the Nobel Prize but my obituary would say, "Best known as Jimmy Olsen."" He often appears with his co-star Noel Neill and appeared as a bartender in Superman Returns. In 2001, he attended the "Superman Week" ceremony at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors celebrating the show's 50th anniversary (above). He is currently working on his autobiography.

Happy Birthday, Jack!