Biography
Ole Olsen, born John Sigvard Olsen on 6 November 1892 in Peru, Indiana, and who died on 26 January 1963 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, teamed with Chic Johnson, born Harold Ogden Johnson on 5 March 1891 in Chicago and deceased on 25 February 1962 in Las Vegas, to form an erratic and wildly unpredictable comedy partnership. Olsen’s initial screen work included brief appearances in the early thirties, among them Oh, Sailor Behave in 1930 as well as Gold Dust Gertie and Fifty Million Frenchmen, both released the following year; the latter title, a diluted adaptation of the 1929 Broadway success, featured both performers. Although the pair had long been familiar to vaudeville crowds, their first major breakthrough arrived when they mounted the Broadway revue Hellzapoppin’, jointly produced with the book credited to Olsen—though every one of their productions was almost certainly a shared endeavor irrespective of formal billing. The show proved an enormous success, running from 22 September 1938 until 17 December 1941.
Olsen and Johnson further took part in the revues Sons O’ Fun, which played from 1941 to 1943 and carried a book by Johnson, Laffing Room Only in 1944 with Olsen supplying the book, and Pardon Our French in 1950, for which they shared writing and directing duties. They also served as co-producers of the 1939 revue Streets Of Paris, the short-lived 1941 play Snookie, and the 1942 revue Count Me In. A 1941 screen adaptation of Hellzapoppin’ presented a threadbare plot credited to Nat Perrin and Warren Wilson that merely linked a succession of frantic comic sketches, several of which retain their humor. Appearing alongside Olsen and Johnson were Mischa Auer, Elisha Cook Jnr., Jane Frazee, Hugh Herbert, Shemp Howard, Richard Lane, Robert Paige, and Martha Raye. The motion picture supplies only a fleeting impression of the stage impact created by this widely praised duo.
Olsen and Johnson further took part in the revues Sons O’ Fun, which played from 1941 to 1943 and carried a book by Johnson, Laffing Room Only in 1944 with Olsen supplying the book, and Pardon Our French in 1950, for which they shared writing and directing duties. They also served as co-producers of the 1939 revue Streets Of Paris, the short-lived 1941 play Snookie, and the 1942 revue Count Me In. A 1941 screen adaptation of Hellzapoppin’ presented a threadbare plot credited to Nat Perrin and Warren Wilson that merely linked a succession of frantic comic sketches, several of which retain their humor. Appearing alongside Olsen and Johnson were Mischa Auer, Elisha Cook Jnr., Jane Frazee, Hugh Herbert, Shemp Howard, Richard Lane, Robert Paige, and Martha Raye. The motion picture supplies only a fleeting impression of the stage impact created by this widely praised duo.