- In 2006, he told The New York Times that he quit acting in 1961 on the advice of his then-boyfriend Montgomery Clift. Larson had gone to an audition for producer Mervyn LeRoy, who had rejected Larson right away because he had played Jimmy Olsen. Clift counseled Larson not to put himself in that situation any longer, so Larson concentrated instead on producing and writing, becoming the first playwright to win a Rockefeller Foundation grant.
- Like George Reeves, Larson claimed that he did not want to do the role of Jimmy Olsen in the Adventures of Superman (1952) television series. His agent told him to do the role, take the money and that it would probably never be seen.
- Was the life-partner of writer/director James Bridges of Urban Cowboy (1980) and The China Syndrome (1979) fame. Their relationship lasted over thirty years until Bridges' death in 1993.
- Famed as Jimmy Olsen on TV's Adventures of Superman (1952), he is also a well-respected playwright and opera librettist whose collaborators include Virgil Thomson.
- Participates in a UCLA scholarship program established in the name of his life partner, the late writer/director James Bridges, for young directors.
- He had small roles in Superboy (1988) and in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993). He has yet to have a role in Smallville (2001), but considering it's not about Superman or Superboy, but instead about Clark Kent, an exception can be made. He had a small role in Superman Returns (2006).
- His home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
- Cousin of producer Robert Larson.
- He played Jimmy Olsen in both Adventures of Superman (1952) and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993). Along with Phyllis Coates and Jack Kruschen, he is one of only three actors to appear in both series.
- His father was born in Colorado, of Swedish and English descent. His mother was born in Ohio, to a Russian Jewish father, Nathan Calicoff, and a German Jewish mother, Theresa Allenberg.
- He was a contract player at Warner Brothers, but was not involved with any of the "Superman" films that starred Christopher Reeve. In addition, Larson and the two "Lois Lane" actresses (Phyllis Coates and Noel Neill) were never brought in to the television production of Wonder Woman (1975) for guest appearances in any episode of that series.
- Is portrayed by Joseph Adam in Hollywoodland (2006)
- Larson had a dog named Max.
- He is buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.
- Longtime friend of Allene Roberts.
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