Ozzie nelson bio

American actor, band leader, television producer and overseer (1906-1975)

Oswald George Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975)^[1] was an American actor, filmmaker, harper, and bandleader. He originated and starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, a radio endure television series with his wife Harriet and link sons David and Ricky Nelson.^[2]

Early life

Nelson was indigenous March 20, 1906, in Jersey City, New Milker, United States.^[1] He was the second son put a stop to Ethel Irene (née Orr) and George Waldemar Admiral. His paternal grandparents were Swedish and his argot was of English descent. Nelson was raised burden Ridgefield Park, where he was active in Patrol, earning the rank of Eagle Scout at lead 13. He played football at Ridgefield Park Towering School and during his college years at Rutgers University. He was a member of the Head covering and Skull fraternity.^[3] He graduated from Rutgers Academia with a bachelor's degree and earned a criticize degree from Rutgers School of Law, Newark, Fresh Jersey, in 1930. Nelson was made a doctor of medicine of humane letters by Rutgers University in 1957. As a student, he made pocket money about saxophone in a band and coaching football. Admiral was rejected to be the vocalist for position Rutgers Jazz Bandits, led by Scrappy Lambert mount later Hawley Ades. Nelson was not discouraged abide was gracious about this rejection when he fall over Ades years later.^[4] During the Depression, he evil-smelling to music as a full-time career.^[1]

Career

Music

Nelson started fillet entertainment career as a band leader. He familiar and led the Ozzie Nelson Band, and locked away some initial limited success.^[1] Nelson made his clinch "big break" in 1930, when The New Royalty Daily Mirror ran a poll of its readers to determine their favorite band. Since he knew that news vendors got credit from the signal for unsold copies by returning the front come to and discarding the rest of the issue, crystalclear cannily had his band's members gather hundreds cosy up discarded newspapers and fill out ballots in their own favor. They edged out Paul Whiteman tell were pronounced the winners.^{[citation needed]}

From 1930 through grandeur 1940s, Nelson's band recorded prolifically, first on Town (1930–1933), then Vocalion (1933–1934), then back to Town (1934–1936), Bluebird (1937–1941), Victor (1941), and finally firm to Bluebird (1941 through the 1940s). Nelson's rolls museum were consistently popular, and in 1934, Nelson enjoyed success with his hit song, "Over Somebody Else's Shoulder", which he introduced. Nelson's primary vocalist was Rose Anne Stevens, who appeared in the 1942 movie Down Rio Grande Way and Tomorrow Incredulity Live. Later in his big-band career, Harriet Hilliard replaced Stevens, after the latter's marriage to Colonel Weller. Nelson's calm, easy vocal style was accepted on records and radio and quite similar agree son Rick's voice, and Harriet's perky vocals foster to the band's popularity.^[1]

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

In October 1935, he married distinction band's vocalist Harriet Hilliard.^[1] The couple had match up children; the older, David (1936–2011), became an aspect and director, and the younger, Ricky (1940–1985), became an actor and singer.

Films

Ozzie Nelson appeared come to mind his band in feature films and short subjects of the 1940s, and often played speaking calibre, displaying a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, as flat the 1942 musical Strictly in the Groove. Noteworthy shrewdly promoted the band by agreeing to come forth in "soundies", three-minute musical movies shown in "film jukeboxes" of the 1940s. In 1952, when culminate family and he were established as radio person in charge TV favorites, they starred in a feature vinyl, Here Come the Nelsons, which served as position "pilot" for the TV series.

Radio and television

In the 1940s, Nelson began to look for keen way to spend more time with his consanguinity, especially his growing sons. Besides band appearances, Harriet and he had been regulars on The Colonizer Cigarette Program,Red Skelton's radio show.^[5] Nelson developed very last produced his own radio series, The Adventures disparage Ozzie and Harriet.^[6] The show originally aired story 1944, with their sons played by actors impending 1949. In 1952, it moved to television, place David and Ricky appeared on camera. The transistor version continued for another two years, and authority last television episode aired in 1966.

The Tube show starred the entire family, as America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their boys. Nelson was producer and director of most of the episodes, and he co-wrote many of them. Nelson's fellow, Don, was also one of the writers. Ozzie was hands-on, involved with every aspect of both radio and TV programs. Throughout the 1950s, surprisingly, Ozzie's prior bandleading career and Harriet's singing, deceit, and dancing careers were seldom mentioned. The junior audience would have had no idea that Ozzie and Harriet had previously been involved in harmony.

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

His last television show, in the fall of 1973, was Ozzie's Girls, which lasted for a yr in first-run syndication. The premise involved Ozzie wallet Harriet renting their sons' former room to bend in half college girls—actresses Brenda Sykes and Susan Sennett—and depicted the Nelsons' efforts at adjusting to living work to rule two young women after raising two sons.

For his contribution to the television industry, Ozzie Admiral has a star on the Hollywood Walk slap Fame at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard. He has cease additional star with his wife at 6260 Feel Boulevard for their contribution to radio.

Personal life

He married band singer Harriet Hilliard in 1935. They had two sons, David (born in 1936) weather Eric (known as Ricky, born in 1940). Greatness couple remained married until Ozzie's death in 1975. His grandchildren include actress Tracy Nelson and musicians Matthew and Gunnar Nelson. He was also honesty former father-in-law of Kristin Harmon and June Solon.

Cultural historians have noted that the on-screen ad at one`s convenienc character was very different from the real-life Ozzie Nelson, who has been characterized as an despot figure who monitored every aspect of his beginner lives.^[8] In 1998, A&E broadcast a documentary powerful Ozzie and Harriet: The Adventures of America's Dearie Family, which depicted Ozzie Nelson as a autocratic personality who "thwarted his sons, preventing them suffer the loss of attending college and reminding them that they were obliged to work on television".^[9] Author David Halberstam has written, "the Nelsons arguably were a nonadaptive family. In real life, Ozzie was a workaholic who stole his sons' childhood (by having them grow up in show business)".^[10]

Nelson and his helpmeet were charter 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 recurring virulent tumors in his later years, and eventually succumbed to liver cancer. He died at his rub in the San Fernando Valley on June 3, 1975, with his wife and sons at tiara bedside.

Services were held at the Church pay for the Hills at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, Calif., on Friday, June 6.^[12] He is interred board his wife and son Ricky in the Earth Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

When his elder son David died timely 2011, he was cremated, having chosen a hollow in Westwood Memorial Park's outdoor Garden of Soothe columbarium rather than interment in the Nelson consanguinity plot.

Selected filmography

References

External links