David Nelson (actor)
American actor (1936–2011)
title: "David Nelson (actor)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1936-births", "2011-deaths", "american-male-television-actors", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-child-actors", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "harmon–nelson-family", "male-actors-from-new-york-(state)", "american-television-directors", "film-directors-from-new-jersey", "film-producers-from-new-jersey", "university-of-southern-california-alumni", "male-actors-from-tenafly,-new-jersey", "american-people-of-swedish-descent", "deaths-from-colorectal-cancer-in-california", "burials-at-westwood-village-memorial-park-cemetery", "television-producers-from-new-jersey"] description: "American actor (1936–2011)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nelson_(actor)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor (1936–2011) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | David Nelson |
| image | Adv of Ozzie and Harriet David Nelson 1964.jpg |
| caption | David Nelson in 1964 |
| birthname | David Oswald Nelson |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | New York City, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Century City, California, U.S. |
| resting_place | Westwood Memorial Park |
| occupation | Actor |
| alma_mater | University of Southern California |
| years_active | 1948–1990 |
| spouse | {{plainlist |
| * {{marriage | June Blair |
| children | 5 |
| parents | Ozzie Nelson |
| Harriet Nelson | |
| relatives | Ricky Nelson (brother) |
| Kristin Nelson | |
| (former sister-in-law) | |
| Tracy Nelson (niece) | |
| Matthew Nelson (nephew) | |
| Gunnar Nelson | |
| (nephew) | |
| Sam Nelson (nephew) | |
| Chuck Woolery (former-son-in-law) | |
| :: |
| name = David Nelson | image = Adv of Ozzie and Harriet David Nelson 1964.jpg | imagesize = | caption = David Nelson in 1964 | birthname = David Oswald Nelson | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Century City, California, U.S. | resting_place = Westwood Memorial Park | occupation = Actor | alma_mater = University of Southern California | years_active = 1948–1990 | spouse = {{plainlist|
| children = 5 | parents = Ozzie Nelson Harriet Nelson | relatives = Ricky Nelson (brother) Kristin Nelson (former sister-in-law) Tracy Nelson (niece) Matthew Nelson (nephew) Gunnar Nelson (nephew) Sam Nelson (nephew) Chuck Woolery (former-son-in-law) David Oswald Nelson (October 24, 1936 – January 11, 2011) was an American actor. He was the older brother of musician Ricky Nelson.
Early life
Nelson was born October 24, 1936, in New York City, the elder son of entertainment couple Harriet Hilliard Nelson and Ozzie Nelson. His younger brother was singer Ricky Nelson. In late 1941, Nelson moved with his parents from Tenafly, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, California.
He attended Hollywood High School, balancing his studies, playing on the football team and his TV work. He later attended the University of Southern California and was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Career
Acting
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Adv_of_Ozzie_and_Harriet_Nelson_Family_1952.jpg" caption="The Nelson family, c. 1952"] ::
Nelson's acting career started in 1949 when he and his brother began playing themselves on their parents' radio series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which lasted until 1954. His film debut came in Here Come the Nelsons, released in 1952.
Also in 1952, Nelson continued playing himself on the TV version of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which ran until 1966. He directed about a dozen episodes of the show starting in the early 1960s.
During the '50s and '60s, Nelson appeared in Peyton Place, The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker, The Big Circus, Day of the Outlaw, -30-, and The Big Show.
From the 1970s through 1990, Nelson had roles in Smash-Up on Interstate 5, Up In Smoke, The Love Boat, High School U.S.A., and A Family for Joe. Nelson's last film appearance was in the 1990 film Cry-Baby.
Directing and producing
Nelson directed episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, O.K. Crackerby!, Ozzie's Girls and Goodnight, Beantown. He directed several films, including Childish Things, Death Screams and Last Plane Out.
In 1973 he was the producer of Ozzie's Girls, a spinoff/revival of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Personal life and death
Nelson had two sons, Daniel Blair and James Eric, from his first marriage with June Blair, which ended in divorce. He later adopted two sons (John and Eric) and a daughter, Teri, during his second marriage to Yvonne Huston.
Nelson died January 11, 2011, in Century City, California, of complications of colon cancer.
Filmography
Actor
- Here Come the Nelsons (1952)
- The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (320 episodes, 1952–1966)
- Peyton Place (1957)
- The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
- The Big Circus (1959)
- Day of the Outlaw (1959)
- -30- (1959)
- The Big Show (1961)
- Hondo (1 episode, 1967)
- Swing Out, Sweet Land (1970)
- The D.A. (1 episode, 1971)
- Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976)
- Up in Smoke (1978)
- The Love Boat (1 episode, 1978)
- An Ozzie and Harriet Christmas (1981 TV special on KTLA in Los Angeles)
- High School U.S.A. (1983)
- A Family for Joe (1990)
- Cry-Baby (1990)
Director
- The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (12 episodes)
- O.K. Crackerby! (Unknown episodes)
- Childish Things (1969)
- Easy to Be Free (1973)
- Ozzie's Girls (1973)
- Death Screams (1982)
- Last Plane Out (1983)
- Goodnight, Beantown (1 episode, 1984)
- A Rare Breed (1984)
Producer
- Ozzie's Girls (1973)
- Easy to Be Free (1973)
- Last Plane Out (1983)
Awards
::data[format=table]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Television | ||
| (star at 1501 Vine Street) | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | |||
| 2006 | TV Land Awards | Favorite Singing Siblings | ||
| (shared with Ricky Nelson) | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | |||
| :: |
References
Notes
References
- McLellan, Dennis. (January 13, 2011). "Ozzie and Harriet's oldest son, longtime director". [[Orlando Sentinel]].
- Weber, Bruce. (January 12, 2011). "David Nelson, Son in ''Ozzie and Harriet,'' Dies at 74". [[The New York Times]].
- "UCF IFC Rush, Kappa Sigma, Kappa Sig UCF, Fraternity Rush".
- Dunning, John. (1976). "Tune In Yesterday the Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio 1925-1976". Prentice-Hall.
- (June 24, 2009). "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present". Random House.
- (January 13, 2011). "David Nelson, 74". The Desert Sun.
- Lloyd, Robert. (January 14, 2011). "A team player for the family". [[The Los Angeles Times]].
- McLellan, Dennis. (January 12, 2011). "David Nelson dies at 74; last surviving member of the TV sitcom family". Los Angeles Times.
- "David Nelson".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::