Biography
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.β
Filmography
all 95
TV Shows 58
Director 44
Movies 37
self 6
Murder, She Wrote (1984)
S.O.B. (1981)
Shirley (1979)
Eischied (1979)
Salvage 1 (1979)
The American Girls (1978)
Fantasy Island (1978)
The San Pedro Beach Bums (1977)
Quincy, M.E. (1976)
Starsky & Hutch (1975)
The Invisible Man (1975)
The Letters (1973)
A Brand New Life (1973)
Barnaby Jones (1973)
Family Flight (1972)
The Streets of San Francisco (1972)
Ghost Story (1972)
The Rookies (1972)
Cannon (1971)
The Silent Force (1970)
Wake Me When the War Is Over (1969)
Blondie (1968)
The Mod Squad (1968)
Lancer (1968)
Hawaii Five-O (1968)
The Cool Ones (1967)
Ironside (1967)
Felony Squad (1966)
Star Trek (1966)
Where's Everett? (1966)
Harum Scarum (1965)
The F.B.I. (1965)
I Dream of Jeannie (1965)
Laredo (1965)
F Troop (1965)
Your Cheatin' Heart (1964)
Gilligan's Island (1964)
12 O'Clock High (1964)
Kissin' Cousins (1964)
Destry (1964)
Archie (1964)
Burke's Law (1963)
The Farmer's Daughter (1963)
Thunder Island (1963)
Hootenanny Hoot (1963)
Vacation Playhouse (1963)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
Hand of Death (1962)
The Purple Hills (1961)
20,000 Eyes (1961)
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
The Detectives (1959)
Philip Marlowe (1959)
Law of the Plainsman (1959)
Men into Space (1959)
Black Saddle (1959)
Bat Masterson (1958)
The Rifleman (1958)
The Donna Reed Show (1958)
Maverick (1957)
Have Gun, Will Travel (1957)
The Steve Allen Show (1956)
The Rosemary Clooney Show (1956)
Dial 999 (1955)
Timeslip (1955)
Matinee Theater (1955)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Gunsmoke (1955)
The Millionaire (1955)
So This Is Paris (1954)
Climax! (1954)
Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
Crime Wave (1953)
She's Back on Broadway (1953)
General Electric Theater (1953)
She's Working Her Way Through College (1952)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)
Starlift (1951)
Painting The Clouds With Sunshine (1951)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1951)
Lullaby of Broadway (1951)
The West Point Story (1950)
The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950)
Tea for Two (1950)
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950)
Your Show of Shows (1950)
The Walls of Jericho (1948)
Studio One (1948)
Apartment for Peggy (1948)
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947)
This Is the Army (1943)
Everything Happens at Night (1939)
Second Fiddle (1939)
Dan August: The Jealousy Factor
Ratings
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1920-03-24
Deathday1996-09-16 (76 years old)
Birth PlaceSeattle, United States of America
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsGene Berg, Eugene A. Nelson
AwardsTheatre World Award, star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
- Gene Nelson
- Filmography
- Information
- Related Persons