Jack Larson, who was popularly known as the young reporter, Jimmy Olsen, of 1950s hit TV series, "Adventures of Superman," has died on Sept. 20, Sunday at his home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 87.
The late actor's longtime friend, Alan Howard, confirmed his death saying that he died peacefully in his sleep with his dog at his side. The veteran actor was known to have no immediate family members.
Born and brought up in Los Angeles, Larson was an only child of East L.A. truck driver and a Western Union clerk. At the age of 14, he was famously offered a role in "Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay!," which he later lost out to none other than iconic actress Marilyn Monroe. His shot to fame came at the age of 18 in 1951 when he starred as an eager young reporter in "Adventures Of Superman." At the time the late actor was reportedly hesitant to play the character in the fear of getting typecast at a young age.
However, the show's producer convinced Larson by saying that it was most possible that the show would never take off. However, when the show was aired, his character, the kid who kept running into trouble at "The Daily Planet" only to be rescued by Superman (George Reeves), was much adored by the audience.
The series had a successful run from 1952 to 1958, though, the late actor was said to be shocked by the sudden rise of his fame and the show's popularity, People reported. However, due to show's contract, he could not pursue other acting roles which came by his way.
The series came to an abrupt end after six seasons after the sudden death of Reeves, which Larson later declared as suicide.
Larson spent the later half of his career writing plays and producing films along with his longtime partner, James Bridges. The duo went on to produce several yesteryear hits, including 1984's "Mike's Murder," 1985's "Perfect" and 1988's "Bright Lights, Big City."
Several years after Bridges' death, Larson famously admitted to Los Angeles Times in 2011 that they were in fact romantic partners.