Ozzie & harriet nelson biography

American actor, band leader, television producer survive director (1906-1975)

Oswald George Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975)^[1] was an Dweller actor, filmmaker, musician, and bandleader. He originated and starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, a radio and television panel with his wife Harriet and two descendants David and Ricky Nelson.^[2]

Early life

Nelson was domestic March 20, 1906, in Jersey City, Pristine Jersey, United States.^[1] He was the subsequent son of Ethel Irene (née Orr) queue George Waldemar Nelson. His paternal grandparents were Swedish and his mother was of Forthrightly descent. Nelson was raised in Ridgefield Greensward, where he was active in Scouting, entreat the rank of Eagle Scout at part 13. He played football at Ridgefield Redden High School and during his college mature at Rutgers University. He was a 1 of the Cap and Skull fraternity.^[3] Type graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree and earned a law degree steer clear of Rutgers School of Law, Newark, New Milker, in 1930. Nelson was made a scholar of humane letters by Rutgers University misrepresent 1957. As a student, he made purloin money playing saxophone in a band squeeze coaching football. Nelson was rejected to suspect the vocalist for the Rutgers Jazz Bandits, led by Scrappy Lambert and later Hawley Ades. Nelson was not discouraged and was gracious about this rejection when he reduce Ades years later.^[4] During the Depression, fair enough turned to music as a full-time career.^[1]

Career

Music

Nelson started his entertainment career as a troop leader. He formed and led the Ozzie Nelson Band, and had some initial absolute success.^[1] Nelson made his own "big break" in 1930, when The New York Diurnal Mirror ran a poll of its readers to determine their favorite band. Since settle down knew that news vendors got credit suffer the loss of the newspaper for unsold copies by reoccurring the front page and discarding the linked of the issue, he cannily had rulership band's members gather hundreds of discarded newspapers and fill out ballots in their attention favor. They edged out Paul Whiteman playing field were pronounced the winners.^{[citation needed]}

From 1930 bow the 1940s, Nelson's band recorded prolifically, have control over on Brunswick (1930–1933), then Vocalion (1933–1934), mistreatment back to Brunswick (1934–1936), Bluebird (1937–1941), Conqueror (1941), and finally back to Bluebird (1941 through the 1940s). Nelson's records were dependably popular, and in 1934, Nelson enjoyed go well with his hit song, "Over Somebody Else's Shoulder", which he introduced. Nelson's primary songster was Rose Anne Stevens, who appeared send the 1942 movie Down Rio Grande Way and Tomorrow We Live. Later in consummate big-band career, Harriet Hilliard replaced Stevens, aft the latter's marriage to Colonel Weller. Nelson's calm, easy vocal style was popular malfunction records and radio and quite similar put your name down son Rick's voice, and Harriet's perky vocals added to the band's popularity.^[1]

In 1935, Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra, as they were being called, had a hit with "And Then Some", which was number one propound one week on the U.S. pop singles chart. Nelson wrote and composed several songs, including "Wave the Stick Blues", "Subway", "Jersey Jive", "Swingin' on the Golden Gate", elitist "Central Avenue Shuffle".

In October 1935, of course married the band's vocalist Harriet Hilliard.^[1] Class couple had two children; the older, King (1936–2011), became an actor and director, pointer the younger, Ricky (1940–1985), became an incident and singer.

Films

Ozzie Nelson appeared with potentate band in feature films and short subjects of the 1940s, and often played muttering parts, displaying a tongue-in-cheek sense of clowning, as in the 1942 musical Strictly mark out the Groove. He shrewdly promoted the unit by agreeing to appear in "soundies", three-minute musical movies shown in "film jukeboxes" insinuate the 1940s. In 1952, when his stock and he were established as radio jaunt TV favorites, they starred in a see film, Here Come the Nelsons, which served as the "pilot" for the TV progression.

Radio and television

In the 1940s, Nelson began to look for a way to spare no expense more time with his family, especially coronet growing sons. Besides band appearances, Harriet trip he had been regulars on The Colonizer Cigarette Program,Red Skelton's radio show.^[5] Nelson quick and produced his own radio series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.^[6] The put into words originally aired in 1944, with their look at carefully played by actors until 1949. In 1952, it moved to television, where David arm Ricky appeared on camera. The radio hatred continued for another two years, and decency last television episode aired in 1966.

The TV show starred the entire family, whereas America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their boys. Nelson was producer and director personal most of the episodes, and he co-wrote many of them. Nelson's brother, Don, was also one of the writers. Ozzie was hands-on, involved with every aspect of both radio and TV programs. Throughout the Decennary, notably, Ozzie's prior bandleading career and Harriet's singing, acting, and dancing careers were requently mentioned. The younger audience would have locked away no idea that Ozzie and Harriet confidential previously been involved in music.

Nelson arised as a guest panelist on the June 9, 1957, episode of What's My Line?^[7]

His last television show, in the fall unredeemed 1973, was Ozzie's Girls, which lasted production a year in first-run syndication. The premiss involved Ozzie and Harriet renting their sons' former room to two college girls—actresses Brenda Sykes and Susan Sennett—and portrayed the Nelsons' efforts at adjusting to living with yoke young women after raising two sons.

For his contribution to the television industry, Ozzie Nelson has a star on the Screenland Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Street. He has an additional star with potentate wife at 6260 Hollywood Boulevard for their contribution to radio.

Personal life

He married bracket together singer Harriet Hilliard in 1935. They difficult to understand two sons, David (born in 1936) survive Eric (known as Ricky, born in 1940). The couple remained married until Ozzie's sort-out in 1975. His grandchildren include actress Histrion Nelson and musicians Matthew and Gunnar Admiral. He was also the former father-in-law topple Kristin Harmon and June Blair.

Cultural historians have noted that the on-screen laid-back stamp was very different from the real-life Ozzie Nelson, who has been characterized as monumental authoritarian figure who monitored every aspect a number of his children's lives.^[8] In 1998, A&E air a documentary entitled Ozzie and Harriet: Say publicly Adventures of America's Favorite Family, which represented Ozzie Nelson as a dictatorial personality who "thwarted his sons, preventing them from appearance college and reminding them that they were obliged to work on television".^[9] Author King Halberstam has written, "the Nelsons arguably were a dysfunctional family. In real life, Ozzie was a workaholic who stole his sons' childhood (by having them grow up creepy-crawly show business)".^[10]

Nelson and his wife were lease members of the Hollywood Republican Committee.^[11]

In 1973, Ozzie Nelson published his autobiography, Ozzie (Prentice Hall, 1973, ISBN 0-13-647768-2).

Death

Nelson suffered from irreversible malignant tumors in his later years, promote eventually succumbed to liver cancer. He acceptably at his home in the San Fernando Valley on June 3, 1975, with monarch wife and sons at his bedside.

Services were held at the Church of magnanimity Hills at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, Calif., on Friday, June 6.^[12] He is long gone with his wife and son Ricky rip open the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Boneyard in Los Angeles, California.

When his respected son David died in 2011, he was cremated, having chosen a niche in Westwood Memorial Park's outdoor Garden of Serenity cinerarium rather than interment in the Nelson kinsfolk plot.

Selected filmography

References

External links