James E. Olson, AT&T; Chairman, Dies of Cancer

James E. Olson, the forceful chairman of American Telephone & Telegraph Co. who got his start at the age of 17 cleaning silt out of manholes for the Bell System in Grand Forks, N.D., died early today at home of cancer.

Olson, who had led the telecommunications giant since the fall of 1986, was 62.

AT&T; President Robert E. Allen, who took over from Olson after Olson became ill with colon cancer last month, will continue to direct the company until the board of directors elects a new chairman.

Olson had made AT&T; more aggressive, more cost-conscious and more certain of its direction since taking office in September, 1986.

Analysts said the company had drifted in the first years after the historic breakup of the Bell System on Jan. 1, 1984.

Olson was considered a take-charge executive with an emphasis on getting results. Disdaining the fashion of corporate board rooms, the beefy executive wore short-sleeved shirts throughout his career.