Dale C Olson was an American writer and publicist who represented prominent actors and film directors during his career, and an early gay rights activist.
17 Facts About Dale Olson
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Dale Olson served on the public relations coordinating and executive committee for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for twenty years, including three years as the committee's chairman.
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Dale Olson was born near Fargo, North Dakota to a young unmarried couple.
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Dale Olson's biological father was a lineman for a telephone company who had gotten into an accident and died.
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The biological and adoptive families of Dale Olson were both Lutheran.
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Dale Olson's adoptive paternal grandfather, Charles Olson, was born in Sweden.
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Dale Olson moved to Los Angeles, California in 1951 and became the first national secretary for the Mattachine Society, one of the first organizations of homosexual men.
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Dale Olson worked as a reporter and writer for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety during his early career.
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Dale Olson co-founded the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle as a staff member at Variety.
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Dale Olson left the company in 1985 to open his own publicity company.
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Dale Olson became the spokesperson for Rock Hudson in 1985 during the actor's battle with AIDS.
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Dale Olson persuaded Hudson to publicly acknowledge that he had the disease, becoming one of the first celebrities to do so.
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Dale Olson represented numerous Hollywood legends throughout his career, such as Marilyn Monroe, Gene Kelly, Alfred Hitchcock, Clint Eastwood, Shirley MacLaine, and Steven Spielberg.
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Dale Olson launched the publicity campaigns for several Hollywood film franchises during the 1970s, including Rambo, Halloween, Rocky, and Superman.
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Dale Olson headed the Academy Award campaigns for many films, notably Terms of Endearment in 1983, American Beauty in 1999, and Gladiator in 2000.
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Dale Olson died of liver cancer at a nursing home in Burbank, California, on August 9,2012, at the age of 78.
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Dale Olson was survived by his partner of thirty years and husband of four, publicist Eugene Harbin.