Sidney A. Olson
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Sidney A. Olson (April 30, 1908 – January 9, 1995) was an American journalist, advertising executive and writer. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he served as a war correspondent for
TIME Inc. Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...
, covering the German front December 1944 to May 1945. He was a Senior Editor for ''
TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', ''
LIFE Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'', and '' Fortune''; before that, he was a staff writer, White House Correspondent, and ultimately City Editor at
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
. He spent over twenty years in advertising at Kenyon & Eckhardt and J. Walter Thompson. He also published a book about
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
.


Early life

Olson was born and grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended the University of Utah from 1925 to 1928. Olson was the eldest of three boys—his brothers were Clifford and Stanley—born to Alex P. Olson, an engineer with the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
, and Sigrid Gronberg. His cousin Franklin S. Forsberg, also from Salt Lake City, was a founder of the Army’s '' Yank'' magazine during World War II; Forsberg also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden from 1981 to 1985.


Career

Between 1928 and 1934, Olson was employed by Stevens & Wallis, a printing & advertising company in Salt Lake City. During this period, he also began writing the news for KSL radio, along with book reviews and news articles for the '' Deseret News''. He began working for The Washington Post in 1934, was the editor of their Weekly News Review by 1935, and was appointed City Editor in 1938. He joined ''TIME Magazine'' in 1939 as a Contributing Editor, eventually becoming a Senior Editor at ''TIME'', ''LIFE'', and ''Fortune'' magazines until he left in 1950.


World War II correspondent

During World War II, between December 1944 and June 1945, Olson served as a
SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...
-accredited (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) war correspondent, sending dispatches from the front to ''TIME'' and ''LIFE'' editors. He crossed the Roer River with General
William Hood Simpson General William Hood Simpson (May 18, 1888 – August 15, 1980) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is best known for being the Commanding officer, ...
’s Ninth Army, interviewed General George S. Patton, and covered the collapse of Nuremberg and Cologne. On April 29, 1945, he was one of the first people to enter the Dachau concentration camp as it was being liberated. He toured the camp with General
Henning Linden Brigadier General Henning Linden (September 3, 1892 – March 15, 1984) was a United States Army officer who served in World War II. He was notable for his role in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp while serving as assistant division ...
, then typed up an eighteen-page dispatch in the early morning hours of April 30. After taking notes in Munich, Olson traveled on to Innsbruck, Austria. He drove to Paris, arriving in time for
V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...
. He returned to the United States in June 1945. On November 26, 1945, he was the recipient—along with many other World War II correspondents—of the European-African-Middle Eastern campaign ribbon for “outstanding and conspicuous service with the armed forces under difficult and hazardous combat conditions,” awarded by Headquarters, U.S. Forces, European Theater. A year later, he received a certificate from the U.S. Secretary of War: “The War Department expresses its appreciation for patriotic service to: Sydney '' ic' A. Olson: for outstanding and conspicuous service as an accredited war correspondent serving with our armed forces in an overseas theater of combat. Nov. 23, 1946.” On November 2, 1948, Olson with John Cameron Swayze and Ben Grauer, co-anchored the first-ever live televised broadcast of the 1948 Presidential race between President Harry S. Truman and Republican candidate New York Governor Thomas Dewey. It was filmed by LIFE-NBC at campaign headquarters in New York City. A copy of Dewey’s telegram to President Truman, in which he officially conceded the election, was read aloud. Olson can be seen on screen beginning at the 8 min., 49 sec. mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsHwnGoZHy0&feature=youtu.be


Hollywood, public relations and advertising

Post-war, Olson wrote less for ''TIME'' magazine, concentrating on longer pieces for ''Fortune'' and ''LIFE''. In 1947, he published three major stories about Hollywood, one about Bing Crosby, another about Paramount Pictures, and the third about House UnAmerican Committee (HUAC) hearings—led by Joseph McCarthy—of the
Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...
(suspected Communists in the movie industry). In March 1950, Olson headed to Hollywood to pursue an opportunity offered him by
Henry Ginsberg Henry Ginsberg (1897–1979) was head of production at Paramount Studios in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He subsequently produced ''Giant'' (1956). Born to a Jewish family, he arrived at Paramount in 1940 and replaced Buddy DeSylva George ...
, vice-president of Paramount Pictures. Olson was given a six-month contract to work on screenplays, among them ''Alice Sit-By-Fire'', a play written by
J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...
, the author of ''Peter Pan'' (in 1951, the screenplay was made into a movie titled ''Darling, How Could You!''). He worked on another screenplay called ''The Dark Wood'' (original play by Alice Duer Miller). He received signed contracts for two original movie treatments, ''The Battle of the Sexes (in Westchester)'' and ''The Traitor''. After working in Hollywood, Olson began working on select public relations projects for the Earl Newsom Company, including the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
and
Ernest R. Breech Ernest Robert Breech (1897–1978) was an American corporate executive. Although he is best remembered for his work in revitalizing Ford Motor Company in the years following World War II, he served similar roles at Trans World Airlines and other co ...
of the
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
. Between 1950 and 1953, Olson was given access to Henry Ford's archives in Dearborn, Michigan. His book ''Young Henry Ford: A Picture History of the First Forty Years'', completed in 1953, was published in 1963. Olson enjoyed a second career in advertising, serving first as copy supervisor at Kenyon & Eckhardt from 1951 to 1956, where he made a name for himself with ''The American Road'' campaign for Ford Motor Company. While with K&E, Olson wrote
Henry Ford II Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...
’s closing speech for the live televised Ford 50th Anniversary Show (Ford Motor Company), produced by
Leland Hayward Leland Hayward (September 13, 1902 – March 18, 1971) was a Hollywood and Broadway agent and theatrical producer. He produced the original Broadway stage productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's '' South Pacific'' and ''The Sound of Music''. ...
and broadcast on June 15, 1953 (simulcast on CBS and NBC). In 1956, Olson joined J. Walter Thompson as Copy group head; he was named Vice President at JWT in 1956 and remained there until 1973, working on major accounts like Eastman Kodak and Ford Mustang. In 1957, he went around the world to identify production locations in Asia and the Middle East for the Ford Motor Company's television campaign, ''Proved and Approved Around the World''.


Personal life

Olson married Zembra Corinne Holmgren (1910–1997), of Bear River, Utah, in Washington D.C. on January 16, 1937. They raised three children—Whitney (b. 1937), John (b. 1942), and Stephen (1952–1992)—in Larchmont, New York. Olson retired in 1973 and moved with his wife and Stephen to Darien, Connecticut. During the 1980s, Olson was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a chronic condition, long-term neurodegeneration, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disea ...
. He died on January 8, 1995 in Darien, Connecticut.


Legacy

Olson published over 700 articles with a by-line for the ''Washington Post'', many of them about politics. He covered FDR, the Senate, the Courts, national conventions and committee meetings. He was invited to the White House on numerous occasions, both to cover stories and to attend social events including the 1936 Correspondents Dinner. The World War II dispatches Olson wrote for ''TIME'' and ''LIFE'' were noteworthy for their depth of detail, insights about military strategy, and careful observations about human suffering. Olson was one of the first people to enter Dachau concentration camp as it was being liberated on April 29, 1945; his coverage for ''TIME'' and ''LIFE'' of that day's horrors (''TIME'', May 8, 1945; ''LIFE'', May 14, 1945) has been cited in numerous books and articles. Olson created “The American Road” campaign for Ford while at Kenyon & Eckhardt.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Sidney A. American male journalists American advertising executives 1908 births 1995 deaths People from Salt Lake City 20th-century journalists