The
Brady's Copyright 1977, Ideal Publishing Corp.
The
Brady's
Susan Olsen
Teen Beat Magazine: August, 1977, pg. 49
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Blond, blue-eyed Susan Olsen is still young enough to give out her age without batting an eyelash. "I know when I get a bit older it might be a sticky topic, but when you're not quite 16 years old yet, you want the world to know it. My 16th birthday is in August," she said laughing.
Susan hails from Santa Monica, California and talks about her show business career with a great deal of love. "You might say that I've been in show business ever since I can remember. When I was three I was doing commercials but mother thought I was too young, so before I knew what happened, I was retired from the business."
"But since acting was something I really enjoyed, my parents knew they could not keep me away from it too long. When I was in kindergarten I was picked for a singing role on Pat Boone's show, where I sang 'I'm A Believer.' I really enjoyed being in front of the camera and have been loving it ever since."
Laughing, Susan went on. "One thing about my family, we didn't wait too long before we were all bitten by the show business bug." Susan, who is one of four children continued, "my brother Larry made about 50 films, (he started as a baby), Christopher made his debut at 14 months as the child in The Iron Curtain and my elder sister Diane retired when she was eight years old. It's hard to believe that I retired at three and came out of retirement at six, but that's how it really happened."
Susan, like the other Brady kids, was thrilled when she heard that the show was going back on the air. "It's hard to remember everyone so young, because I was the baby. Now when you see Barry and Maureen so grown up, with boyfriends and girlfriends of their own, it seems funny. Although I'm still too young to have a boyfriend, I at least know what everyone is talking about."
Susan stands 5'2.5" tall and weighs 110 lbs. "When I look at the old shows I really have to laugh because I was such a midget. Now I'm the same height and weight as the other girls, and it just seems strange. People walk up to me on the street and tell me how much I've changed, yet they say I still have the same baby face. I don't know if that's good or bad, but for now I think it's good."
As busy as Susan is taping the show these days, she manages to find time for her animals. "I'm a nut when it comes to animals. Sometimes I've thought if I weren't in show business I would become a vet. I now have three dogs and a desert tortoise. If I were able to, I would have four more dogs, plus cats, birds, you name it, I would want to take care of it."
"But I do find time for horseback riding and swimming. True, I'm not doing as much as before the show, but I'm not complaining either. I also enjoy drawing, painting and knitting. At least I can do some of these things on the set, so I'm never really idle.
Susan Olsen is very active with a great deal of talent going for her. While she's been in several commercials, she has also appeared in episodes of Gunsmoke, Julia, Ironside and Donny and Marie. Her feature films include Where the Girls Are and The Boy Who Stole the Elephant.
When you ask Susan about her thoughts on Donny Osmond, since she worked with him, she says, "I'm a normal teenager who thinks like everyone else. He's a doll and as nice as can be."
While Susan still says she's too young to think in terms of a boyfriend, she does like boys who are fun to be with, sincere, and the most important factor of all..."they have to like animals!"