Ben
Olson was the father of Julie and Steve Olson, and ex-husband of
Addie Horton. Ben was a successful businessman from a privileged
background, and with an excellent job as president of the First
National Bank. A man from the old school of thought, Ben believed
that being a good father was providing a comfortable lifestyle for
his children, even if it meant being almost uninvolved in the
children's lives. It was this mindset that caused the most problems
in his family. Having married Addie Horton in 1949, Ben quickly built
a successful banking career and tried to envelop his wife with a
luxurious lifestyle. As a result, he spoiled Addie and their future
children.
By 1965, this attitude of making money over giving love to the family had caused tension. Ben often argued with Addie and even talked about divorce. And all of this arguing took a toll on their teenage daughter Julie. On the evening of November 8, 1965, Addie and Ben were called away from a dinner party after being notified that Julie had tried to steal a fur stole from Bartlett's Department Store. Although Julie had already been released to her grandparents, Ben and Addie went to Bartlett's in order to contest the charges brought against their daughter. Unfortunately, Bartlett's had a sophisticated (for that time) security camera that captured the entire incident. Without a doubt, Julie had tried to take the stole without paying. Ben was fuming by the time he arrived home.
Following
a fierce argument with Julie, Ben prohibited a number of things to
her, limiting her life to school and homework. What Ben failed to see
was that Julie was crying out for attention. He had been so busy
making money that he had almost ignored her for a number of years.
Julie eventually had to face a judge for her crime, and he didn't
fail to see that the Olson family was in trouble. As a result, the
judge ordered that Julie to live in the custody of her grandparents,
Tom & Alice Horton, until March of the following year. Ben was
outraged by the ruling, but decided to let it be to avoid making the
case public and tarnish his image. In the end, he was able to see
that it was the best for Julie's sake.
In January of 1966, the First
National Bank sent Ben to Europe in order to oversee the opening of
an overseas branch of the bank. This job was very lucrative and was
only supposed to last six months. However, after six months passed
Ben decided to stay in Paris. Addie, who had joined him in April of
1966, agreed to stay as well in order to repair the marriage. A shaky
understanding had come to pass between Addie and Julie while Ben had
been in France, and so there were no second thoughts about remaining
in Europe. Sometime later, Steve also joined his parents in Paris. In
1971, Ben suffered a heart attack and passed away.
The character of Ben Olson was played
by Robert Knapp from 1965-1966