Jack Larson

:"For The Simpsons character, see Jack Larson (Simpsons)"Infobox actor


imagesize = 250px
name = Jack Larson
birthname = Jack Edward Larson
birthdate = birth date and age|1928|2|8
birthplace = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
partner = James Bridges

Jack Edward Larson (born February 8, 1928) [California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.] is an American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Jimmy Olsen in the TV series "Adventures of Superman".

Biography

He has at times claimed 1933 as his birth year. He was born in Los Angeles, was raised in Pasadena, California, and graduated from Montebello High School in 1945.

Larson has said that he found the role of the cub reporter to be a handicap due to its typecasting of him. He has not done much acting since then, mostly behind-the-scenes work such as writing and production. However, he has always been willing to sit for interviews about the "Superman" series and his connection to it, and in recent years has had a number of cameos that pay subtle tribute to his character and the series:

*He appeared in a 1991 episode of the TV series "Superboy" alongside Noel Neill who had played Lois Lane in "Adventures of Superman".

*He was a guest actor on the series "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" as an aged Jimmy Olsen in the episode "Brutal Youth", first telecast on October 20, 1996.

*He had a quick cameo in a late-1990s American Express Card commercial featuring Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman, directed by David Kellogg.

*He and his co-star Noel Neill provided commentary on several "Superman" episodes for the January 2006 DVD release of the 1953 season.

*Also in 2006, he appears in Bryan Singer's film "Superman Returns" in a cameo role as "Bo the Bartender"; it was rumored prior to the film's release that his role would actually be Suicide Slum resident and Superman fan, Bibbo Bibbowski, a supporting character from the modern Superman comics. In one of Larson's "Superman Returns" scenes, where characters celebrate Superman's rescue of a plane, his character is shown wearing a bow tie in the style of Jimmy Olsen and hugging the film's incarnation of Jimmy Olsen played by Sam Huntington.

*Larson and Noel Neill appeared together at the premiere of "Superman Returns". They typically come across as good friends, much like the characters they played in the 1950s series, in which Jimmy and Lois often investigated stories together.

Among his other work, Larson wrote the libretto to the opera "Lord Byron" to music by Virgil Thomson.

In a TV appearance after "Superman", he had a guest role as a corporal on "Gomer Pyle USMC".

Larson was the life partner of director James Bridges. Their relationship lasted 35 years until Bridges' death on June 6, 1993.citation |title=Queers in History |first=Keith |last=Stern |year=2006 |isbn=1847283489 |page=64 |authorlink=Keith Stern] Prior to that, he was the companion of actor Montgomery Clift [ [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant/participant.jsp?spid=35646&apid=114490 Montgomery Clift ] ]

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0489001|name=Jack Larson
* [http://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=cast-crew/jack-larson A Superman fan site]