Kaitlin Olson is opening up about her recent family tragedy.
During one of the busiest periods of her life, while filming High Potential as well as the final season of Hacks, her father Donald Olson unexpectedly passed away at 77.
The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actress, who has been married to Rob McElhenney since 2008, announced the passing of her father in an Instagram post in May featuring a slew of photos of them throughout the years, and she noted: “Honestly it feels a little gross to bring this to social media. It’s too fragile and too private.”
Speaking with Vanity Fair about her dad’s passing — after he went in for a repair of an aortic aneurysm, when his lungs suffered a massive inflammatory response and filled with fluid — Kaitlin revealed she learned the news while on the High Potential set.
“I left production. I felt terrible — I obviously never do that,” she said, adding: “I literally just got in the car and drove home, called them on the way, and was kind of shut down for a little bit.”
Thus began what Kaitlin said was a “a long, slow, miserable event,” during which she flew back and forth between Los Angeles and Oregon while her father was in the ICU.”
© Instagram“Everyone over at Hacks was so incredibly flexible and kind and understanding,” she added of the Emmy-winning show, on which she guest starred as Jean Smart’s character Deborah Vance’s daughter DJ. “This is a gigantic nuisance, and I’m a guest star on their show.”
It was on her very first day finally on set for Hacks fifth and final season that her father lost consciousness. “Honestly, at this point, it’s a blur,” she said, recalling: “I collapsed in the line producer’s arms. I said, ‘I have to go.’ And he said, ‘Go.'”
© Getty Images“Shutting down a production like that is devastating,” she continued. “I’ll forever be grateful to them for their grace around that.”
© Getty Images“I’m trying to digest that information and shoot a comedy,” Kaitlin also noted. “I’d have to stop and take phone calls and wipe away tears and come back and then try and be funny. And it felt so weird. I felt guilty, because I was legitimately having fun. That was confusing.”
In her tribute announcing her father’s passing earlier this year, Kaitlin also shared: “Nothing feels more wrong than to just move on with life as if the worst thing in the world didn’t happen. As if everything that matters didn’t just suddenly end. My dad died. My first love, my first protector and my forever favorite person. He fought so hard and so long to stay with us. I hate words right now. None are good enough to describe who he was. The luckiest thing to happen to me in this lifetime was getting him as my dad.”
Read the full article here
