Nancy Olson
Biography
Nancy Olson is an American retired actress who was signed by Paramount Pictures in 1948 and made her film debut in Canadian Pacific (1949). Her breakthrough came as Betty Schaefer in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950), earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and leading to three more films with William Holden, among them Union Station (1950). She also appeared in Warner Bros. pictures such as Big Jim McLain (1952) and Battle Cry (1955), took Broadway roles in the late 1950s, and reached a new generation of moviegoers through Disney films including Pollyanna (1960), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963), plus Snowball Express (1972) and Airport 1975 (1974). She did guest work on television in the 1960s and 1970s and has been retired since the mid-1980s, apart from a brief uncredited part in Flubber (1997), and released a memoir in 2022.
98years old
Turns 99 on July 14in 274 days
- Born Milwaukee
- Star sign: CancerThe sign runs June 21 to July 22
- Also credited as Nancy Ann Olson
Movie Career
- Films
- 13
- Career span
- 49 years1948 to 1997
First and latest
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A role that slipped away
Nancy Olson was considered for Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949), a part she later said did not suit her. Hedy Lamarr got the role instead.
First role
A talent scout attended a play at UCLA to observe the male lead, and Olson's performance in that play attracted the scout's attention.
Beyond film
Olson's success in Sunset Boulevard also got her cast in Dimension X, a radio program, in the episode titled "Hello Tomorrow" that aired September 15, 1950.
Behind the camera
A memoir called A Front Row Seat: An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour came out from Olson in 2022.
Nancy Olson movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Robert Stevenson directed two of these films. Keenan Wynn appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Keenan Wynn's page
William Holden's page
Fred MacMurray's page
Leon Ames's page
James Westerfield's page
Edward Andrews's page
Robert StevensonDirector, 2 films, 1961 to 1963
All films by Robert Stevenson
Also two films together7 more actors
- Anne FrancisBattle Cry (1955) and Portrait of Jennie (1948)
- Alan HewittSon of Flubber (1963) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
- Elliott ReidSon of Flubber (1963) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
- Tommy KirkSon of Flubber (1963) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
- Forrest LewisSon of Flubber (1963) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
- Alan CarneySon of Flubber (1963) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
- Gage ClarkeThe Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Pollyanna (1960)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.