Executive Who Linked Hertz With O.J. Simpson Dies at 91

Just one day after the death of O.J. Simpson, Frank Olson, a Hertz executive who cast Simpson to star in the company’s advertising campaign, has reportedly died at the age of 91. His sons stated that Olson’s death was due to complications from COVID.

He died in his home in Palm Beach, Fla. on Wednesday, though news of his death is just being reported right now. After O.J. Simpson was accused of murdering Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown, Olson distanced himself from the former running back.

In 2016, Olson made a statement in the documentary O.J.: Made in America that caused controversy. When referencing Simpson, he said “I took him places where I think very few Black men had ever been.”

The New York Times reports on his death,

The coincidental timing of the deaths of Mr. Olson, who had steered Hertz through years of corporate turbulence, and Mr. Simpson, the athlete turned pitchman turned infamous criminal defendant, linked the two men in a way that Mr. Olson had once embraced but that he later distanced himself from.

More than business partners, Mr. Olson and Mr. Simpson, both San Francisco natives, forged an alliance, beginning in the 1970s, that spoke of that mutually beneficial zone where corporate and social life intertwine. Mr. Olson, an avid golfer, sponsored Mr. Simpson for membership in the private Arcola Country Club in Paramus, N.J., where in 1992 Mr. Simpson, a former Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Football Hall of Famer, became the first Black member.

In a letter that Mr. Simpson left at his Los Angeles home before his arrest in the stabbing murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald L. Goldman, he listed friends he was sending “love and thanks to.” Mr. Olson was one of them.

The New York Times

The New York Times also reported that the hiring of Simpson by Hertz sparked controversy in the company because of Simpson’s race. That portion of their report reads,

The idea of featuring him in Hertz commercials to symbolize speedy service, beginning in 1974, originated with the company’s ad agency. But because Mr. Simpson was Black and most Hertz customers where white businessmen, the choice made the agency nervous, according to a 1994 article in The Washington Post.

So the decision was kicked up to Mr. Olson, who at the time was executive vice president and general manager of the rental-car division. (The company also rented trucks.)

The New York Times

Rest in peace, Mr. Olson!