August 14, 2012

Dale Olson, Longtime Hollywood Publicist to Top Film and TV Stars

Olson's high-profile included Rock Hudson, whom he represented during the actor's battle with AIDS.

Dale Olson, a longtime publicist who represented numerous top film and television stars over the course of a career that spanned more than four decades, died August 9, 2012, in Burbank, California. He was 78.

Olson's many high-profile clients included actor Rock Hudson, whom Olson represented during the actor’s battle with AIDS.

A native of Fargo, North Dakota, Olson was a journalist before making a transition into publicity.

He ran the motion picture division of public relations firm Rogers & Cowan for 18 years before he resigned in August 1985 to form his own company.

In addition to representing individuals, he oversaw media campaigns for more than 150 feature films.

According to news reports, his celebrity clients included Clint Eastwood, Laurence Olivier, Walter Matthau, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe, James Whitmore, Robert Duvall, Rod Steiger, Dyan Cannon, Shirley MacLaine, Gene Kelly, Steve McQueen, Doris Roberts, Marion Ross, Peter Ustinov, Robert Blake, Diane Ladd, Jean Stapleton, James Earl Jones, Diana Rigg and Sally Kirkland,

In-depth obituaries are available at:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

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