Born On This Day- February 6th... TV's Jack Larson

Little Stevie loved to watch The Adventures Of Superman in the afternoon on my grandmother's B&W TV. I was impressed with George Reeves in tights & I had a bit of a crush on Jimmy Olsen. Despite the brilliance of his portrayal of Jimmy Olsen, Jack Larson's most impressive performance may have been away from the camera, after the series was ended by Reeves's suicide & he found that, he was indelibly identified as Olsen, he could no longer find other roles. He was mortified when director/producer Melvyn Leroy yelled at his casting director- "don’t bring me him… he is Jimmy Olsen!” He sought solice with his former lover- Montgomery Clift. He remembers meeting Clift at the Bel Air Hotel. Monty said, ‘This is going to continue,’ ” Mr. Larson recalled. “ ‘Don’t put yourself in these situations anymore. You need to leave this behind.’ & that’s when I decided to quit acting.”




Other actors in similar situations have drifted into booze & drugs, or moved to Europe, searching out ever less & less prestigious projects to pay the bills. But Larson calmly accepting his situation, he gave up his acting career, came out as a gay man, settled into a long-term relationship with writer/director James Bridges (see post earlier this week), & devoted himself to writing for the stage. He focused instead on his writing, becoming an award winning playwright & librettist, receiving the first Rockefeller Foundation grant ever awarded to a playwright. He collaborated with composers including the openly gay Virgil Thomson, & Ned Rorem, & his verse plays are performed all over the world. He was also a producer on films like The Paper Chase, Urban Cowboy & Bright Lights, Big City, often working with Bridges. When reporters asked questions about his experiences doing The Adventures Of Superman, Larson is always willing to provide them with thoughtful, humorous, & intelligent answers. If in later Superman projects like Superboy or Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman or the film Superman Returns, the producers asked him to make a cameo appearance, he accepted graciously & gave them a good performance; if the makers of other Superman adventures (like the Christopher Reeve films) issued no such invitations, he made no public complaints.

Jack Larson is still looking good on his 81st birthday & still lives in the Frank Lloyd Wright designed house that he shared, for 35+ years, with Bridges & their dogs.