CHARLENE OLSON

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CHARLENE OLSON Peacefully, at home in Los Angeles, "Char" left us Tuesday, April 30, 2013, with her family by her side. Only at the age of 53 years, Char's family and many friends are saddened with her passing with a life shortened by complications from cancer that she desperately attempted to conquer. Emma and Madelaine, twin daughters, twelve years old on May 1, and their father, Sean Church, are left with their memories of a life lived to the fullest that Charlene could achieve. The film industry was exciting, but challenging, for someone who had a hearing disability. Char made the most of the opportunities that presented themselves over a thirty year career. Cherishing her memory are sisters: Julia Fraser and her children Lauren and Ethan, Laureen Olson and daughter Natia and great- grandnephew Talon. Parents, Maureen Olson and Richard Olson mourn their daughter's early passing with heavy hearts. Charlene was born January 29, 1960, on her grandfather Walter Olson's birthday, in the Northern Manitoba town of Lynn Lake where the thriving nickel mine was home and where Char the eldest, with younger sisters Julie and Laureen, resided until the fall of 1963. An excellent student Charlene was an active leader during her school years, especially at River Heights Junior High School (editor of the Annual Year Book) and Kelvin High School, Chairperson of the Social Committee. Dedicated to the task at hand Char could be counted on to get the job done. Many a night she fell asleep at her bedroom desk pouring over photos and text for the River Heights Year Book. In the Spring of 1975, Grade Nine students from River Heights Junior High, were invited to visit exchange families in France and at the tender age of fourteen, Char visited Paris and Troyes. The stage was set for a life of travel to visit Europe and eventually do film work in Great Britain. A gift of a SLR camera, in her early teen years, brought Char to work in a photography studio, after Kelvin High School hours, and eventually she set up a dark room at home. Using her sisters as portrait models she found herself drawn to making photography work more than a hobby. Leaving Winnipeg for Toronto, in the late seventies, Char enrolled at Ryerson College and this city became home for many years where she graduated with a Degree in Applied Science. Toronto was bustling with film work in Canadian television and then American movies where she eventually put all her energies. The college years in Toronto were a wonderful time to come of age and with guts and gusto Char was in the thick of the film industry scene. The hearing disability became a benefit when it came to the intense focus one required to splice film and organize the many film strips a single scene required. Turning off her hearing aid, Char was a picture of concentration plugging away where many struggled. Char's success in Toronto took her on film assignments to California, Florida and New York where she expanded her growing field of contacts with talented and gifted people who inspired her to spread her wings. Aspiring to test her abilities Char was chosen to attend the Norman Jewison Producers Project and using the programs grant money, two short films were produced and both were accepted in Film Festivals. Shortly after this experience Char and Sean moved to Southern California and set up a permanent home there. A career that included popular movies, Sea of Love, Fly Away Home, Miracle, and Men Who Stare at Goats and Warrior, Char toiled away behind the camera, where the real talent lay making the film come alive in the editing process, mixing and matching the music and the action that makes the story comprehensible to the audience. Charlene and Sean, and the whole family were very happy when in 2001, Emma and Madelaine were born in Southern California, moving then to Los Angeles where the film assignments grew in quantity and quality. Working with the best people brought out the best in Charlene, as she attested to many times. A Celebration of Life will be held in a Vintage Theatre, Los Feliz, 1822 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles with family and friends, Saturday, June 8, 2013 starting at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Donations in memory of Charlene will be gratefully accepted for Jocelyn House to the Jocelyn Hutton Foundation, 1282 Archibald Avenue, St. Boniface.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 01, 2013