John Sigvard "Ole" Olsen (November 6, 1892 – January 26, 1963) was an American

vaudevillian Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and comedian.

Biography

Olsen was married twice. He had four children with his first wife, Lillian Clem: John Charles, Robert Clem, Joy, and Moya. They were later divorced. His son, Robert died of miliary tuberculosis at age 2; son J. C., an actor, died by suicide in 1956. Moya married William P. Lear of Learjet fame in 1942. Ole was involved in a serious automobile accident in 1950 and recuperated at the Lear home. In June 1961 Ole married Eileen Maria Osthoff, a dancer and choreographer he had known for eight years. Olsen's ambition was to make people laugh. He is remembered for the quote, "May you live as long as you laugh, and laugh as long as you live", which are cited on his headstone. Olsen died in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

at the age of 70 of a kidney ailment, and is interred in Palm Desert Memorial in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, in a grave adjoining that of Chic Johnson.

References

External links

* * Charles Stump
Olsen and Johnson - The Zaniest of the Zanies
from

Classic Images ''Classic Images'' is a monthly American mail-subscription newspaper in tabloid format, founded in 1962 by film collector Samuel K. Rubin, dedicated to film and television of the "Golden Age". Its offices are located in Muscatine, Iowa and it is ...

Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre
*
"Ole Olsen Papers, 1910-1999, Collection Guide"

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Ole (comedian) 1892 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American comedians Northwestern University School of Communication alumni People from Peru, Indiana Vaudeville performers American people of Norwegian descent Deaths from kidney disease