This week, a cherished figure from Hollywood’s Golden Age was seen enjoying a rare outing in Los Angeles, gracing the streets at the remarkable age of 97.
The actress, renowned for her Oscar-nominated performance in Billy Wilder’s 1950 classic “Sunset Boulevard,” still exudes a touch of that timeless movie star charm as she went about her errands in the city.
Clad in a casual grey sweater, matching trousers, and a coordinating scarf, she maintained an effortlessly polished look, a testament to her enduring elegance long after her red-carpet days.
During the 1950s and ’60s, she shared the silver screen with some of Hollywood’s most iconic figures, such as William Holden, John Wayne, and Fred MacMurray, cementing her place at the heart of the studio system’s most glamorous era.
Although she retired from acting in the 1980s, her illustrious career encompassed a series of unforgettable roles in both film and television.
Fans fondly recall her roles in the disaster film “Airport 1975,” as well as family classics like “Pollyanna” with Hayley Mills, “Smith!” alongside Glenn Ford, and “Snowball Express” with Dean Jones.
One of the last surviving links to Hollywood’s Golden Age was spotted out and about in Los Angeles this week, enjoying a rare public outing at the remarkable age of 97
The actress, best known for her Oscar-nominated turn in Billy Wilder’s 1950 classic Sunset Boulevard, still carried a hint of that old-school movie star poise as she ran errands around the city
Dressed down in a relaxed grey sweater, matching trousers and a coordinating scarf, she looked effortlessly polished – even decades after her red-carpet heyday
If you guessed Nancy Olson, you clearly know your Old Hollywood history.
Last August, Olson reflected on her breakthrough role in Sunset Boulevard, offering a rare glimpse behind the curtain of one of Hollywood’s most enduring classics.
At 21, she was still a college student with only a few screen credits when director and co-writer Wilder cast her as Betty Schaefer in the film.
Betty is a Paramount Pictures story editor and aspiring writer who meets William Holden’s Joe Gillis and offers him a potential way back into studio work after his career stalls.
In the film, Betty becomes involved in helping Joe develop a screenplay, unaware of his growing entanglement with faded silent film star Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson.
Olson said Wilder took an unusual approach to the role, leaning less on traditional character-building and instead drawing on her real-life personality to help shape Betty’s on-screen presence.
‘I remember being very impressed that Billy chose me to play Betty Schaefer, and after a certain point, I realized that he wanted me not to be a character; he wanted me to be myself,’ Olson recalled to People.
Indeed, Wilder immersed himself in her real-life background, peppering her with questions about her upbringing and early ambitions as he shaped Betty around her own experiences.
At 21, Nancy Olson was still a college student with only a few screen credits when director and co-writer Billy Wilder cast her as Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard
Betty is a Paramount Pictures story editor and aspiring writer who meets William Holden’s Joe Gillis and offers him a potential way back into studio work after his career stalls
Olson appeared in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) with Fred MacMurray as Betsy Carlisle
Olson and Van Heflin starred in 1955’s Battle Cry
Olson married lyricist Alan Jay Lerner in 1950 and had two daughters, Liza and Jennifer, before divorcing in 1957, and later married Capitol Records executive Alan W. Livingston in 1962, with whom she had a son, Christopher, remaining together until his death in 2009; Above in 2014
‘He interviewed me on the lot, walking around on the way to the commissary, and he’d asked me a million questions,’ she remembered.
‘What was it like growing up in Milwaukee? What was it like to be in college and work?… He wanted the public to believe that I could possibly be that person.’
‘And you know something?’ she added. ‘I was a little too naive not to be scared to death! I kind of came in and they said he wanted me to wear my own clothes, and I thought, “Okay, I’m going to be Nancy.’ And there I was.”‘
Born in Milwaukee in 1928, she grew up far from the Hollywood spotlight.
After completing her schooling in Wisconsin, she spent a year at the University of Wisconsin before transferring to UCLA, a move that quietly set her on a new path when a campus theatre performance caught the eye of a visiting talent scout.
That chance encounter led to a Paramount Pictures contract in 1948, and within a year she was navigating supporting roles and early screen tests.
Her breakout came quickly, first with Canadian Pacific and then with Sunset Boulevard in 1950.
Alongside her film career, she balanced a steady presence on radio and later television, while also stepping into multiple collaborations with Holden and appearances across Warner Bros. and Disney productions throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
Later, she moved to New York and broadened her career onto the Broadway stage.
Her personal life unfolded alongside her professional one. In 1950, she married lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, and the couple had two daughters, Liza and Jennifer, before divorcing in 1957.
She later married Capitol Records executive Alan W. Livingston in 1962, with whom she had a son, Christopher.
That marriage lasted until Livingston’s death in 2009.
