Gene Nelson
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1920-03-24
Day of Death
1996-09-16 (76 years old)
Place of Birth
Astoria, Oregon, USA
Gene Nelson
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.
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Acting
(1981)
S.O.B.
as Clive Lytell
(1973)
A Brand New Life
as Harry
(1972)
Family Flight
as Aircraft Carrier Captain
(1963)
Thunder Island
as Billy Poole
(1961)
20,000 Eyes
as Dan Warren
(1961)
The Purple Hills
as Gil Shepard
(1955)
Oklahoma!
as Will Parker
(1955)
Timeslip
as Mike Delaney
(1955)
Dial 999
as Greg Carradine
(1954)
So This Is Paris
as Al Howard
(1953)
Crime Wave
as Steve Lacey
(1953)
Three Sailors and a Girl
as Twitch
(1953)
She's Back on Broadway
as Gordon Evans
(1952)
She's Working Her Way Through College
as Don Weston
(1951)
Starlift
as Gene Nelson
(1951)
(1951)
Lullaby of Broadway
as Tom Farnham
(1950)
Tea for Two
as Tommy Trainor
(1950)
The West Point Story
as Hal Courtland
(1950)
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
as Doug Martin
(1948)
The Walls of Jericho
as Legal Assistant
(1948)
Apartment for Peggy
as Jerry (uncredited)
(1947)
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
as Tommy Yale
(1943)
This Is the Army
as Soldier (uncredited)
(1939)
Second Fiddle
as Minor Role
(1939)
Everything Happens at Night
as Skater
Crew
(1973)
The Letters
Director
(1969)
Wake Me When the War Is Over
Director, Producer
(1967)
The Cool Ones
Director
(1966)
Where's Everett?
Director
(1965)
Harum Scarum
Director
(1964)
Kissin' Cousins
Director, Screenplay
(1964)
Your Cheatin' Heart
Director
(1964)
Archie
Director
(1963)
Hootenanny Hoot
Director
(1962)
Hand of Death
Director