Publicist Dale Olson, who Convinced Rock Hudson to Admit to Having Aids, has Died
Dale Olson, a top Hollywood publicist who protected the public images of a throng of stars, including Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Shirley MacLaine, Gene Kelly and Joan Crawford, and who helped persuade Rock Hudson to announce that he had AIDS, died on Thursday in Burbank, Calif. He was 78.
The cause was liver cancer, his spouse and only survivor, Eugene Harbin, said.
In a four-decade career, Mr. Olson earned a reputation as an expert manager of Academy Award campaigns for clients, several of whom won, including Maggie Smith, for her performance in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969); Robert Duvall, for “Tender Mercies” (1983); and Ms. MacLaine, for “Terms of Endearment” (1983).
Mr. Olson was considered old school in his courtliness, his knack for leaving no fingerprints when planting clients’ names in boldface columns, and his unflappability in the face of the unexpected. In 1974 he faced a planeload of disgruntled entertainment writers who had been invited to the set of “The Klansman” for interviews with the film’s star, Richard Burton, and his wife, Elizabeth Taylor. Mr. Olson gave them the bad news first: Ms. Taylor had left the night before after quarreling with Mr. Burton. “The good news,” he added, “is that you will be the first to see Richard Burton after the split.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/movies/dale-olson-top-hollywood-publicist-dies-at-78.html