Olsen and Johnson - Television

Television

In 1949 NBC Television hired Olsen and Johnson to star in an ambitious variety show, Fireball Fun for All. It was hard to adapt Olsen and Johnson's unpredictable, prop-laden humor to a rigid time slot. Surviving kinescopes of the expensive, short-lived show demonstrate just how hard everyone tried to recapture the old, large-scale Hellzapoppin' magic under the limitations of live television. At least the series reflected on the stars' achievement: they had now performed in every form of popular entertainment. The team tried TV again, appearing semi-regularly on NBC's All-Star Revue .Their last regular TV series was ABC's 1957 children's series, Popsicle Five Star Comedy. Seen Saturday evenings, the short-lived series also featured ventriloquists Paul Winchell and Senor Wences, and cartoonist-storyteller Bob Bean. (All-Star Revue is listed in "The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs: 1946 to 1979" by Vincent Terrance, published by Arlington House; Popsicle Five Star Comedy is referenced in "Children's Television: The First 35 Years: Live, Taped and Filmed Shows" by George Woolery, published by Scarecrow Press.)

Olsen and Johnson continued to preside over rowdy revues into the 1950s, mostly in Las Vegas. In the late 1950s illness forced Johnson to retire from the hectic show-business lifestyle, while Olsen continued to work as a solo performer. When Milton Berle was hosting NBC's Jackpot Bowling, Ole Olsen was on hand to play straight to Berle's antics. This was actually a surprise for Olsen, as his live comic routine was interrupted by Ralph Edwards and a This Is Your Life tribute. The flabbergasted Olsen greeted family and friends, with frequent breaks for time-honored O & J sight gags. The final guest was Chic Johnson, who ran on-camera in his familiar stage costume and joyfully reunited with his old friend and partner.

Johnson died in 1962; Olsen less than a year later. The two partners had always been close, and fittingly enough, their final resting places (in Las Vegas) are adjacent.