Gary Olsen

Gary Olsen

Born: November 3, 1957
Died: September 12, 2000
in London, England, UK
​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  

Gary Olsen (3 November 1957–12 September 2000) was an English actor.

Olsen was born in London and lived with an aunt and uncle, after losing both his parents at an early age. He attended the Archbishop Tenison's Church of England School in Kennington. After school he joined various junior stage groups and toured with fringe theatrical companies, such as Incubus, and Lumiere and Son, until late 1976. At this point he immersed himself in the punk rock scene until returning to theatre in 1978. Later he helped develop the musical production Up on the Roof, in which he starred in 1987 at London's Donmar and Apollo theatres.

He made his screen debut in 1979 as Rory Storm in The Birth Of The Beatles, and appeared in numerous British films and television programmes, including playing PC Dave Litten in the first series of The Bill, but achieved fame only with the role of Ben in the sitcom 2point4 Children (1991–1999). He played a starring film role as Arthur Hoyle alongside Samantha Janus and Neil Morrissey in the rugby league comedy, Up 'n' Under. He appeared in many TV adverts, notably the 1996 National Westminster Bank advertising campaign.

In addition to his screen appearances he made numerous stage appearances including Rocky Horror Picture Show and What the Butler Saw. He also played 'Pope Liberty III' in the Australian production of the controversial musical Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom.

Olsen also displayed his comic talents as Steve in The Comic Strip Presents' send up of The Fly, called The Yob. He also starred with Brian Bovell in the 1986 TV series Prospects about two likely lads in the Docklands trying to get ahead but usually failing.

After a ten month fight with cancer, Olsen died in Victoria, where he had emigrated following his diagnosis. He left a widow, Australian second wife Jane, and their two children, a son and a daughter. He was 42 years old.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Gary Olsen,  licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies for Gary Olsen...

24 Hours in London
Title: 24 Hours in London
Character: Christian
Released: July 14, 2000
Type: Movie
London gangster Christian has a plan to kill off the opposition, but things get messy when a witness survives.
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The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Adventures in the Secret Service
Title: The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Adventures in the Secret Service
Character: Boris
Released: November 21, 1999
Type: Movie
In the thirteenth film in the series, in March 1917, Indiana Jones, now a captain in the French army, is assigned to escort two Austrian princes to meet with Emperor Karl I and convince him to broker a peace deal with France and Britain at the expense of Austria's alliance with Germany. Two months later, at the French Embassy in Petrograd, Indy must decide between his loyalty to his friends and his work in French Intelligence when he is pressed to discover details of a possible Bolshevik revolution in Russia which would cripple the French war effort.
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Alice Through the Looking Glass
Title: Alice Through the Looking Glass
Character: Tweedle-Dum
Released: December 26, 1998
Type: Movie
A modern adaptation of the classic children's story 'Alice through the Looking Glass', which continued on from the popular 'Alice in Wonderland' story. This time Alice is played by the mother, who falls asleep while reading the the bedtime story to her daughter. Walking through the Looking Glass, Alice finds herself in Chessland, a magical and fun world. There she meets the Red and White Queens, as well as many other amusing friends on her journey across the chessboard countryside onto become a crowned queen.
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Up 'n' Under
Title: Up 'n' Under
Character: Arthur Hoyle
Released: January 23, 1998
Type: Movie
The Cobblers Arms have been the best and most feared Amateur Rugby League team for the past ten years. Ex-pro Arthur bets their boss that he could train a bunch of deadbeats to defeat them in a local rugby sevens tournament. But to do so he must first get them into shape with the help of the very attractive Hazel Scott.
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Title: Pilgrim's Rest
Character: Bob Payne
Released: July 31, 1997
Type: TV
Bob Payne (Gary Olsen) used to work as a 'roadie' for a rock band. He decided to buy a roadside cafe called Pilgrim's Restaurant. It looked like a good investment with a healthy turnover. Bob bought the restaurant with the help of a loan from his sister Tilly (Gwen Taylor), who's married to a wealthy businessman. A year later, a new by-pass opened and most of the 'passing trade' dissapeared. Turnover dropped dramatically and Bob was left to scrape a living by catering for a small band of regular customers. Then Tilly's husband left her and she needed somewhere else to live, so she moved in with her brother.
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Pauline Calf's Wedding Video
Title: Pauline Calf's Wedding Video
Character: Tony
Released: December 29, 1994
Type: Movie
Spoof video diary. Steve Coogan takes on the roles of downtrodden Paul and the vivacious blonde Pauline Calf, who finally gets herself up the aisle with the man of her dreams. Even a punch-up in the toilet can't spoil her special day.
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Title: Health and Efficiency
Character: Dr. Michael Jimson
Released: December 30, 1993
Type: TV
Health and Efficiency is a British situation comedy that was originally broadcast from 30 December 1993 to 10 February 1995 on BBC1 for a total of 12 episodes over 2 series. It was written by Andrew Marshall, writer of the sitcom 2point4 children. The show starred Gary Olsen and Roger Lloyd Pack who both starred in 2point4 children, as well as Victor McGuire and Deborah Norton. The setting was a hospital and each episode was 30 minutes in length.
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Paul Calf's Video Diary
Title: Paul Calf's Video Diary
Character: Tony
Released: December 30, 1993
Type: Movie
Lager lout and philosopher Paul Calf records his video diary over New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Accompanied by his friends Fat Bob and Roland and his sister Pauline, he staggers through two days of drinking, fighting and failed sex, in desperate pursuit of his ex-girlfriend, Julie.
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Title: 2Point4 Children
Character: Ben Porter
Released: September 3, 1991
Type: TV
They're just your average family. Stressed mum Bill, daft dad Ben, and two troublesome teens. Plus just a few crazy ideas, escapades and mishaps. The classic 90s sitcom.
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Come Home Charlie and Face Them
Title: Come Home Charlie and Face Them
Character: Porson
Released: November 25, 1990
Type: Movie
Adapting R.F. Delderfield's classic story of love, lust, crime and betrayal, this three-part mini-series centres around a young bank clerk whose yearning to escape the mundanity of 1930s small-town life is answered all too readily when he falls for an exotic beauty with dangerous intentions.
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The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Title: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Character: Spangler
Released: October 13, 1989
Type: Movie
The wife of an abusive criminal finds solace in the arms of a kind regular guest in her husband's restaurant.
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The Yob
Title: The Yob
Character: Steve
Released: March 12, 1988
Type: Movie
An illegal psychic teleportation experiment goes horribly wrong, and pretentious promo director Patrick gets his genes mixed with those of a football hooligan. Slowly, he begins to change - taking on some undeniably yobbish tendencies.
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Metamorphosis
Title: Metamorphosis
Character: Chief Clerk
Released: February 1, 1987
Type: Movie
TV film of Steven Berkoff's stage adaption of Kafka's famous story in which a young man, who is the sole financial supporter of his family, awakes one morning in the form of a giant dung beetle and thereby becomes a nuisance to his family, who must now learn to rely upon themselves.
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Title: Casualty
Character: Gary Tate
Released: September 6, 1986
Type: TV
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
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Title: Prospects
Released: February 19, 1986
Type: TV
Prospects is a British television comedy drama series that was written by Alan Janes and originally shown on Channel 4 in 1986. Created by Euston Films who had a pedigree of producing successful, gritty drama such as The Sweeney and Minder, it followed the exploits of two East End 'geezer' characters - Jimmy 'Pincy' Pince played by Gary Olsen and Billy played by Brian Bovell and their trials and tribulations of making a living in London's Isle of Dogs. Comprising 12 episodes Prospects - with a comic slant, dealt with many of the major issues affecting British society at the height of the "Thatcherite" '80's including unemployment, crime, poverty, regeneration, social change and racism. Prospects gained a cult following and ratings wise it performed well above expectation for Channel 4. At that time Channel Four received a large subsidy from the rival commercial network ITV in exchange for the right to sell airtime; this gave ITV a significant input into the management of the station. The success of Prospects and the fact that it was produced by a subsidiary of the ITV network's largest station Thames Television meant it was moved to a 9pm prime-time repeat slot on ITV in the Spring/Summer of 1987. This fuelled rumours that the network wanted to develop Prospects into a long-running comedy drama series. However despite seeing potential ITV declined the opportunity to develop it beyond the original first series.
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Turtle Diary
Title: Turtle Diary
Character: Lorry Driver
Released: December 6, 1985
Type: Movie
Two separate people, a man and a woman, find something very stirring about the sea turtles in their tank at the London Zoo. They meet and form an odd, but sympathetic camaraderie as they plan to steal two of the turtles and free them into the ocean.
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Underworld
Title: Underworld
Character: Red Dog
Released: November 29, 1985
Type: Movie
When high class hooker Nicole is kidnapped from her brothel, Rich businessman Hugo Motherskille hires her ex love Roy Bain to find her. Investigating the disappearance, he eventually finds traces that lead to Dr. Savary, who has produced a strange white powder that's coveted by a race of deformed human beings who live in the underworld in the sewers below the city.
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Title: EastEnders
Character: Albert Beale
Released: February 19, 1985
Type: TV
The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.
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Winter Flight
Title: Winter Flight
Character: Dave
Released: December 20, 1984
Type: Movie
As the Falklands War looms, an RAF recruit falls for a young barmaid, but their romance is quickly complicated with some surprising news.
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Title: The Bill
Character: Dave Litten
Released: October 16, 1984
Type: TV
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
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Loose Connections
Title: Loose Connections
Character: Kevin
Released: April 13, 1984
Type: Movie
A woman enlists a man who claims he is gay to accompany her on a long drive to a feminist conference in Munich.
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Woodentop
Title: Woodentop
Character: PC Litten
Released: August 16, 1983
Type: Movie
Woodentop became the forerunner to long-running British police television series The Bill, which went on air 14 months later and continued for 26 years. Woodentop depicts PC Jim Carver's first day at Sun Hill Police Station, where he is partnered with experienced WPC June Ackland. The day is an eventful one; the pair's first assignment together leads them to discovering a decomposing woman's body in her bath. Later whilst on patrol Jim encounters a rude youngster and influenced by comments made by older officers at the station decides to clip him round the ear. This action results in him receiving a reprimand at the station from Sergeant Wilding
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Walter and June
Title: Walter and June
Character: Shower Room Attendant
Released: April 30, 1983
Type: Movie
Sequel to the TV film "Walter". In the United States, the two films have been released together on DVD as a package, called "Loving Walter".
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Party Party
Title: Party Party
Character: Terry
Released: January 1, 1983
Type: Movie
It's New Year's Eve. Larry's parents are at the vicarage dance leaving Larry in charge of the house. Big mistake, because Larry's a party animal and tonight he's going to go wild - with a little help from his friends!
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Title: The Comic Strip Presents...
Character: Steve
Released: November 2, 1982
Type: TV
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents... which was labelled as an example of alternative comedy. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders and Alexei Sayle with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and others.
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Pink Floyd: The Wall
Title: Pink Floyd: The Wall
Character: Roadie
Released: July 14, 1982
Type: Movie
A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
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Title: The Day of the Triffids
Released: September 10, 1981
Type: TV
The Day of the Triffids is a British television series which was first aired by the BBC in 1981. An adaptation by Douglas Livingstone of the 1951 novel by John Wyndham, the six half-hour episodes were produced by David Maloney and directed by Ken Hannam, with original music by Christopher Gunning.
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Outland
Title: Outland
Character: Worker #1
Released: May 22, 1981
Type: Movie
An honest marshal in a corrupt mining colony on Io, Jupiter's sunless third moon, is determined to confront a violent drug ring even though it may cost him his life. After his wife angrily deserts him, he waits alone for the arrival of killers hired by the company to eliminate him.
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Bavarian Night
Title: Bavarian Night
Character: Youth
Released: March 31, 1981
Type: Movie
The dynamic young headmaster of St Peter's Primary School decides to liven up a parents' fundraising social by hiring a Bavarian band.
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Breaking Glass
Title: Breaking Glass
Character: Guy at Bar
Released: October 1, 1980
Type: Movie
Breaking Glass is the story of punk singer Kate and her meteoric rise to stardom. Starting out in the rock pubs of London, Kate, assisted by her manager Danny, becomes a huge star overnight. Once at the top the pressure is immense as Kate's band are squeezed out and she is left to cope alone in the spotlight.
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Birth of the Beatles
Title: Birth of the Beatles
Character: Rory Storm
Released: November 23, 1979
Type: Movie
The early days of the Fab Four are traced from their bleakest hours as unknowns on Penny Lane in Liverpool to their triumph on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
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Title: Minder
Character: Derek
Released: October 29, 1979
Type: TV
This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley.
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Title: An Audience with...
Character: Self
Released: January 8, 1978
Type: TV
An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.
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Title: Van der Valk
Character: Brouwer
Released: September 13, 1972
Type: TV
Van der Valk is a British television series that was produced by Thames Television for the ITV network. It starred Barry Foster in the title role as Dutch detective Commissaris "Piet" van der Valk. Based on the characters and atmosphere of the novels of Nicolas Freeling, the first series was shown in 1972.