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Gene Nelson

Actor

Gene Nelson

Born March 24, 1920 in Astoria, Oregon, USADied September 16, 199626 films

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.

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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.​

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The best way into Gene Nelson's work
Crime Wave posterFirst watchCrime Wave19537.1as Steve LaceyReformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter. The other two former cellmates then attempt to force him into doing a bank job.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Oklahoma! poster6.6Oklahoma!1955S.O.B. poster6.0S.O.B.1981

Filmography

26 films as actor
  1. 1981S.O.B.Clive Lytell
  2. 1973A Brand New LifeHarry
  3. 1972Family FlightAircraft Carrier Captain
  4. 1963Thunder IslandBilly Poole
  5. 1961The Purple HillsGil Shepard
  6. 196120,000 EyesDan Warren
  7. 1955Dial 999Greg Carradine
  8. 1955TimeslipMike Delaney
  9. 1955Oklahoma!Will Parker
  10. 1954So This Is ParisAl Howard
  11. 1953Three Sailors and a GirlTwitch
  12. 1953Crime WaveSteve Lacey
  13. 1953She's Back on BroadwayGordon Evans
  14. 1952She's Working Her Way Through CollegeDon Weston
  15. 1951StarliftGene Nelson
  16. 1951Painting the Clouds with SunshineTed
  17. 1951Lullaby of BroadwayTom Farnham
  18. 1950The West Point StoryHal Courtland
  19. 1950Tea for TwoTommy Trainor
  20. 1950The Daughter of Rosie O'GradyDoug Martin
  21. 1948The Walls of JerichoLegal Assistant
  22. 1948Apartment for PeggyJerry (uncredited)
  23. 1947I Wonder Who's Kissing Her NowTommy Yale
  24. 1943This Is the ArmySoldier (uncredited)
  25. 1939Everything Happens at NightSkater
  26. 1939Second FiddleMinor Role