Ken Olin

Ken Olin

Born: July 30, 1954
in Chicago, Illinois, USA
His dark, sincere good looks were steadily put to use on the small screen during the 80s, but, in retrospect, actor Ken Olin will probably be considered more of a major force behind the camera. Born in Chicago, Ken went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and headed for Hollywood in the late 70s. After the typical route of bit parts, he started moving up in leaps and bounds on TV's top shows. A couple of strong, single season regular parts on both Hill Street Blues (1981)and Falcon Crest (1981) ultimately led to his casting as the introspective and quietly sexy Michael Steadman on Thirtysomething (1987), which ran for four seasons and nabbed numerous awards for its liberal writing and sensitive content. Ken co-starred with wife Patricia Wettig on the show, but the multi-Emmy winner Wettig did not play Ken's wife (actress Mel Harris did) and the public was often confused as to who Ken's wife really was. Ken also earned the chance to direct occasionally on Thirtysomething (1987) and this would have a significant impact as to the direction of his career in the years to come. Following Thirtysomething (1987), Ken pursued acting work in mini-movies as both hero ( Police Story: Cop Killer (1988) ) and villain ( Dead by Sunset (1995) ), but almost always seemed on the verge of leaving acting altogether. It was his burgeoning interest in directing that took over, and he has since found steady helming duties on such popular shows as Felicity (1998) and The West Wing (1999). His TV drama Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992)was nominated for three Emmys.

Movies for Ken Olin...

The Story of Soaps
Title: The Story of Soaps
Character: Self
Released: May 19, 2020
Type: Movie
This ABC/PEOPLE television special highlights the impact of the soap opera. In today's shifting television landscape, "The Story of Soaps" traces how female creators migrated from radio to television to become the dominant force in daytime for more than three decades. Today, the legacy of the soap opera continues all over prime time and reality t.v. An extensive look is taken at this iconic, impactful genre.
bee
Title: Stars in the House
Character: Self
Released: March 16, 2020
Type: TV
In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic and theatres across the world closing their curtains indefinitely, SiriusXM host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley have created Stars in the House, a daily live streamed series to support The Actors Fund and its services.
bee
Title: Zoo
Character: Professor Robert Oz
Released: June 30, 2015
Type: TV
Set amidst a wave of violent animal attacks sweeping across the planet, a young renegade scientist is thrust into a race to unlock the mystery behind this pandemic before time runs out for animals and humans alike.
bee
Title: Brothers and Sisters
Character: David Caplan
Released: September 24, 2006
Type: TV
The close-knit Walker family deals with struggles and triumphs.
bee
The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie
Title: The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie
Character: Ken Olin
Released: October 23, 2005
Type: Movie
After making it to the top of the charts, members of the Silver Boulders, a popular tween rock band, find themselves undermined by internal squabbling as the bandmates seek different creative directions.
bee
Title: Breaking News
Released: July 17, 2002
Type: TV
Breaking News is an American drama television series about the fictional Milwaukee-based 24-hour cable news television network I-24, with the motto 'Around the Clock, Around the World.' The series premiered July 17, 2002, on Bravo.
bee
Title: Alias
Character: David McNeil (uncredited)
Released: September 30, 2001
Type: TV
Sydney Bristow, an agent who has been tricked to believe she is working for the U.S. government, is actually working for a criminal organization named the Alliance of Twelve. Upon learning this, Sydney becomes a double agent for the real CIA.
bee
Y2K
Title: Y2K
Character: Nick Cromwell
Released: December 22, 1999
Type: Movie
It's millennium eve. At the stroke of midnight the Y2K computer bug kicks in, causing widespread chaos in the US.
bee
Evolution's Child
Title: Evolution's Child
Released: October 22, 1999
Type: Movie
Dr. James Mydell is involved in an unfortunate incident of assisted reproduction. For one has to deal with extracting semen of a Bronze Age men recently found in a glacier. On the other, he have to help a couple of friends, the Cordell, solve their fertility problems. But carelessness causes an unexpected samples were confused and finally Elaine Cordell is inseminated with semen of prehistoric man.
bee
Title: L.A. Doctors
Character: Dr. Roger Cattan
Released: September 21, 1998
Type: TV
L.A. Doctors is an American medical drama television series set in a Los Angeles practice. It ran on CBS during the 1998-99 season.
bee
The Advocate's Devil
Title: The Advocate's Devil
Character: Abe Ringel
Released: October 5, 1997
Type: Movie
A charismatic basketball star (Holt McCallany) is accused of rape. A lawyer (Ken Olin) in need of a big win is brought in to get the star off. The lawyer wins the case, but along the way he discovers that the player may not be as innocent as he leads on to the public. Then things get worse when he discovers the player has led his teen-age daughter to a hotel room for a "special" birthday party for her.
bee
Til There Was You
Title: Til There Was You
Character: Gregory
Released: May 30, 1997
Type: Movie
Two strangers, whose paths are always crossing, finally meet when fate steps in. It took them twenty years to fall in love at first sight.
bee
Title: EZ Streets
Character: Det. Cameron Quinn
Released: October 27, 1996
Type: TV
EZ Streets is an American television drama series created by Paul Haggis. It premiered on CBS on October 27, 1996 with a two hour pilot telefilm. The series stars Ken Olin, Joe Pantoliano, and Jason Gedrick.
bee
Title: Dead by Sunset
Released: November 19, 1995
Type: TV
A doctor meets a handsome, successful man and soon marries him--unaware that he cheated on his first wife, raped her, abused and tortured his children, and when his wife was about to leave him, murdered her.
bee
Nothing But the Truth
Title: Nothing But the Truth
Character: Dr. Peter Clayman
Released: May 23, 1995
Type: Movie
A polygraph examiner has an affair with a murder suspect after her test clears him, but new evidence then suggests that he's guilty after all.
bee
Title: Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Character: Self - Guest
Released: September 13, 1993
Type: TV
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. The second incarnation of NBC's Late Night franchise, O'Brien's debuted in 1993 after David Letterman, who hosted the first incarnation of Late Night, moved to CBS to host Late Show opposite The Tonight Show. In 2004, as part of a deal to secure a new contract, NBC announced that O'Brien would leave Late Night in 2009 to succeed Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show. Jimmy Fallon began hosting his version of Late Night on March 2, 2009.
bee
Telling Secrets
Title: Telling Secrets
Character: Det. Jay Jensen
Released: January 17, 1993
Type: Movie
Through a series of elaborate schemes, a wealthy woman arranges for the murder of her husband's mistress and then takes steps so that the crime won't be traced back to her. The detective investigating the murder soon realizes her role in it, and sets out to find a way to pin the murder on her.
bee
Queens Logic
Title: Queens Logic
Character: Ray
Released: February 1, 1991
Type: Movie
When childhood friends Al, Dennis and Eliot get together for Ray's wedding, which may or may not happen, they end up on a roller-coaster ride through reality. During one tumultuous, crazy weekend, they face adulthood and each other with new found maturity and discover what Queens Logic is all about. This comedy takes a look at friendship, loyalty, and love.
bee
Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston
Title: Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston
Character: Charles Stuart
Released: September 25, 1990
Type: Movie
Dramatic recounting of the true story of Bostonians Charles and Carol Stuart and the events before and after October 23, 1989, the night of the latter's murder, supposedly, as the husband related to police, by a young black man out to rob them while they were spending a night on the town.
bee
Police Story: Cop Killer
Title: Police Story: Cop Killer
Character: Officer Manny Mandell
Released: October 27, 1988
Type: Movie
The best friend and partner of a dedicated cop is killed by a pair of holdup men during a routine traffic check.
bee
A Stoning in Fulham County
Title: A Stoning in Fulham County
Character: Jim Sandler
Released: October 24, 1988
Type: Movie
Religious beliefs clash with the law when an Amish infant is killed in a rural community.
bee
Title: thirtysomething
Character: Michael Steadman
Released: September 29, 1987
Type: TV
Thirtysomething is an American television drama about a group of baby boomers in their late thirties. It was created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick for MGM/UA Television Group and The Bedford Falls Company, and aired on ABC. It premiered in the U.S. on September 29, 1987. It lasted four seasons, with the last of its 85 episodes airing on May 28, 1991. The title of the show was designed as thirtysomething by Kathie Broyles, who combined the words of the original title, Thirty Something. In 1997, "The Go Between" and "Samurai Ad Man" were ranked #22 on TV Guide′s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2002, Thirtysomething was ranked #19 on TV Guide′s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and in 2013 TV Guide ranked it #10 in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time.
bee
Title: I'll Take Manhattan
Character: Nat Lammerman
Released: March 1, 1987
Type: TV
I'll Take Manhattan is a 1987 American television miniseries, adapted from Judith Krantz's novel of the same name. Screened by CBS, it tells the story of the wealthy Amberville family, who run their own publishing company in New York. After Zachary Amberville, the patriarch of the family, dies, the company is taken over by his unscrupulous brother Cutter. Zachary's children, especially his energetic and intelligent daughter Maxi, begin a battle to regain control of the father's company. I'll Take Manhattan was the highest-rated miniseries of the 1986–87 US television season with a 22.9/35 rating/share.
bee
Tonight's the Night
Title: Tonight's the Night
Character: Henry Fox
Released: February 2, 1987
Type: Movie
The game of love starts in a typical blues bar. The hot and magic rhythm of the blues makes even the shiest man throw away his fears and participate in the erotic of the night.
bee
There Must Be a Pony
Title: There Must Be a Pony
Character: Jay Savage
Released: October 5, 1986
Type: Movie
Marguerite Sydney is a celebrated Hollywood star attempting a comeback after a stay in a mental hospital, as well as trying to re-establish a relationship with her teenage son, and risking a romance with a mysterious stranger.
bee
Title: Murder, She Wrote
Character: Perry Revere
Released: September 30, 1984
Type: TV
An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.
bee
Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac
Title: Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac
Character: David Frank
Released: April 1, 1984
Type: Movie
Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac is a true story based on the crash of Air Florida flight 90 on January 13, 1982 in Washington D.C. This movie follows the main players throughout the day, with a lot of care taken to re-create what actually went wrong, who died, and who survived. There is a lot of actual footage from the day, as well as accurate representations of aircraft type and airline.
bee
Title: The Hitchhiker
Character: Steve
Released: November 1, 1983
Type: TV
A young hitchhiker introduces characters who are about to experience a frightening and sometimes supernatural incident of some kind in this moody anthology series.
bee
Title: Bay City Blues
Character: Rocky Padillo
Released: October 25, 1983
Type: TV
Bay City Blues is an American comedy-drama series that aired on NBC from October 1983 to November 1983. The series stars Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, and Pat Corley, and was created and produced by Steven Bochco. Eight episodes were produced, but only four were aired prior to its cancellation.
bee
Title: Hotel
Released: August 21, 1982
Type: TV
Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty. Based on Arthur Hailey's 1965 novel of the same name, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling and set in the elegant and fictitious St. Gregory Hotel in San Francisco. Establishing shots of the hotel were filmed in front of The Fairmont San Francisco atop the Nob Hill neighborhood. Episodes followed the activities of passing guests, as well as the personal and professional lives of the hotel staff.
bee
Ghost Story
Title: Ghost Story
Character: Young Sears James
Released: December 18, 1981
Type: Movie
Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year-old secret. When one of Edward Wanderley's twin sons dies in a bizarre accident, the group begins to see a pattern of frightening events developing.
bee
Title: Falcon Crest
Character: Christopher Rossini
Released: December 4, 1981
Type: TV
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the Californian wine industry. Jane Wyman starred as Angela Channing, the tyrannical matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery, alongside Robert Foxworth as Chase Gioberti, Angela's nephew who returns to Falcon Crest following the death of his father. The series was set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley northeast of San Francisco.
bee
Title: Hill Street Blues
Character: Harry Garibaldi
Released: January 15, 1981
Type: TV
A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.
bee
Women at West Point
Title: Women at West Point
Character: Board Member
Released: February 27, 1979
Type: Movie
A fictionalized drama about the first women to enter the U.S. Military Academy in 1976 and the reactions they faced.