Gene Nelson
Gene Nelson was an American dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director. Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he moved to Seattle when he was a year old. He was inspired to become a dancer by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers when he was a child. After serving in the Army during World War II during which he also performed in the musical This Is the Army, Nelson landed his first Broadway role in Lend an Ear, for which he received the Theatre World Award. He also appeared onstage in Follies, which garnered him a Tony Award nomination, and Good News. Nelson's longtime professional dance partner during the 1950s was actress JoAnn Dean Killingsworth. Gene Nelson co-starred with Doris Day in "Lullaby of Broadway" in 1951. He played Will Parker in the film Oklahoma! In 1959, he appeared in Northwest Passage as a young man trying to prove his innocence in a murder case. Nelson appeared on the March 17, 1960 episode of "You Bet Your Life", hosted by Groucho Marx. He and Groucho's daughter, Melinda, performed a dance number together. Nelson directed eight episodes of The Rifleman in the 1961-62 season, the original Star Trek, the first season of I Dream of Jeannie, Gunsmoke, The Silent Force, and The San Pedro Beach Bums. He directed the Elvis Presley films Kissin' Cousins, which screenplay he wrote, and Harum Scarum. For the Kissin' Cousins screenplay he received a WGA award nomination for best written musical. He later taught in the Theater Arts Department at San Francisco State University in the late 1980s. He starred as Buddy in the 1971 Broadway musical Follies, for which he received a 1972 Tony Award nomination for Featured Actor In A Musical. The production featured a score by Stephen Sondheim and was co-directed by Michael Bennett and Harold Prince. For contribution to the motion picture industry, in 1990, Nelson was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Nelson's star is located at 7005 Hollywood Boulevard. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gene Nelson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 1984 · Murder, She Wrote as Louis Metcalf
- 1981 · S.O.B. as Clive Lytell
- 1973 · A Brand New Life as Harry
- 1972 · Family Flight as Aircraft Carrier Captain
- 1972 · The Streets of San Francisco as
- 1972 · Ghost Story as Steve
- 1968 · The Mod Squad as
- 1967 · Ironside as
- 1963 · Burke's Law as Rick Mason
- 1963 · Burke's Law as Danny Swift
- 1963 · Thunder Island as Billy Poole
- 1962 · The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- 1961 · The Purple Hills as Gil Shepard
- 1961 · 20,000 Eyes as Dan Warren
- 1959 · The Detectives as
- 1959 · Philip Marlowe as
- 1959 · Law of the Plainsman as Hardy O'Hara
- 1959 · Men into Space as
- 1959 · The Bell Telephone Hour as Self
- 1959 · Black Saddle as Wickes
- 1959 · Rawhide as
- 1958 · Bat Masterson as Whit Morrison
- 1957 · Maverick as Jim Hazlit
- 1957 · Have Gun, Will Travel as
- 1956 · The Steve Allen Show as Self - Dancer
- 1956 · The Rosemary Clooney Show as Self
- 1955 · Dial 999 as Greg Carradine
- 1955 · Timeslip as Mike Delaney
- 1955 · Matinee Theater as
- 1955 · Oklahoma! as Will Parker
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Hob Cannon
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Foss
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Hutch
- 1955 · The Millionaire as Lt. Steven Q. Forrest
- 1954 · So This Is Paris as Al Howard
- 1954 · Climax! as Jess Shepard
- 1953 · Three Sailors and a Girl as Twitch
- 1953 · Crime Wave as Steve Lacey
- 1953 · She's Back on Broadway as Gordon Evans
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as
- 1952 · She's Working Her Way Through College as Don Weston
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Robert
- 1951 · Starlift as Gene Nelson
- 1951 · Painting The Clouds With Sunshine as Ted
- 1951 · Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as
- 1951 · Lullaby of Broadway as Tom Farnham
- 1950 · The West Point Story as Hal Courtland
- 1950 · The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self
- 1950 · Tea for Two as Tommy Trainor
- 1950 · The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady as Doug Martin
- 1950 · Your Show of Shows as
- 1948 · The Walls of Jericho as Legal Assistant
- 1948 · Studio One as Trout
- 1948 · Apartment for Peggy as Jerry (uncredited)
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self - Actor
- 1947 · I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now as Tommy Yale
- 1943 · This Is the Army as Soldier (uncredited)
- 1939 · Everything Happens at Night as Skater
- 1939 · Second Fiddle as Minor Role