Gene Nelson
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- March 24, 1920
- Died
- September 16, 1996
- Birthplace
- Astoria, Oregon, USA
Gene Nelson was an American dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director. Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, his family 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.
Filmography
S.O.B. 1981
as Clive Lytell
The Letters 1973
Director
A Brand New Life 1973
as Harry
Family Flight 1972
as Aircraft Carrier Captain
Wake Me When the War Is Over 1969
Director, Producer
The Cool Ones 1967
Director
Where's Everett? 1966
Director
Harum Scarum 1965
Director
Your Cheatin' Heart 1964
Director
Kissin' Cousins 1964
Director, Screenplay
Archie 1964
Director
Thunder Island 1963
as Billy Poole
Hootenanny Hoot! 1963
Director
Hand of Death 1962
Director
The Purple Hills 1961
as Gil Shepard
20,000 Eyes 1961
as Dan Warren
A Man's Game 1957
as Tom Watts
Dial 999 1955
as Greg Carradine
Timeslip 1955
as Mike Delaney
Oklahoma! 1955
as Will Parker
So This Is Paris 1954
as Al Howard
Three Sailors and a Girl 1953
as Twitch
Crime Wave 1953
as Steve Lacey
She's Back on Broadway 1953
as Gordon Evans
She's Working Her Way Through College 1952
as Don Weston
Starlift 1951
as Gene Nelson
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine 1951
as Ted
Lullaby of Broadway 1951
as Tom Farnham
The West Point Story 1950
as Hal Courtland
Tea for Two 1950
as Tommy Trainor
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady 1950
as Doug Martin
The Walls of Jericho 1948
as Legal Assistant
Apartment for Peggy 1948
as Jerry (uncredited)
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now 1947
as Tommy Yale
This Is the Army 1943
as Soldier (uncredited)
Everything Happens at Night 1939
as Skater
Second Fiddle 1939
as Minor Role
Credits from TMDB.