Robert Olney, Ex-Mayor of Burbank, Dies in Hospital

Former Burbank Mayor Robert Olney, who had tried to make peace among fellow council members during his four years on the City Council, died Sunday of a cerebral aneurysm at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank. He was 67.

Olney, who had operated the Burbank Mug Shop since leaving office in 1983, had been in and out of the hospital for at least a month for treatment of an undisclosed illness, hospital officials said.

Olney was a native of Lansing, Mich., and had lived in Burbank since 1946. He was elected to the Burbank City Council in 1979 and resigned after serving one term.

When he was appointed mayor by his colleagues in 1982, Olney called for increased cooperation and an end to personal arguments among council members.

He earned a reputation as the council’s quietest member.

He is survived by his mother, his wife, a son, a brother, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be Wednesday at First United Methodist Church in Burbank. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills, said Gail Walkey of the Valley Funeral Home in Burbank.