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The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years. The series starred Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Nelson (née Hilliard), and their young sons, David Nelson and Eric Nelson, better known as Ricky. Don DeFore had a recurring role as the Nelsons’ friendly neighbor “Thorny”. The series attracted large audiences, and although it was never a top-ten hit, it became synonymous with the 1950s ideal American family life. It is the longest-running live-action sitcom in US TV historyIn the early 1930s, a booking at the Glen Island Casino landed Ozzie Nelson’s orchestra national network radio exposure. After three years together with the orchestra, Ozzie and Harriet signed to appear regularly on The Baker’s Broadcast (1933–1938), hosted first by Joe Penner, then by Robert L. Ripley, and finally by cartoonist Feg Murray. The couple married on October 8, 1935 during this series run, and realized working together in radio would keep them together more than continuing their musical careers separately. In 1941, the Nelsons joined the cast of The Red Skelton Show, also providing much of the show’s music. The couple stayed with the series for three years. They also built their radio experience by guest appearances, together and individually, on many top radio shows, from comedies such as The Fred Allen Show, to the mystery titan Suspense, in a 1947 episode called “Too Little to Live On”.RadioWhen Red Skelton was drafted in March 1944, Ozzie Nelson was prompted to create his own family situation comedy. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS on October 8, 1944, moving to NBC in October 1948, and making a late-season switch back to CBS in April 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949 to June 18, 1954. In total 402 radio episodes were produced. In an arrangement that amplified the growing pains of American broadcasting, as radio “grew up” into television, the Nelsons’ deal with ABC gave the network the option to move their program to television. The struggling network needed proven talent that was not about to defect to the more established and wealthier networks like CBS or NBC. The Nelsons’ sons, David and Ricky, did not join the cast until the radio show’s fifth year (initially appearing on the February 20, 1949 episode). The two boys were played by professional actors prior to their joining because both were too young to perform. The role of David was played by Joel Davis from 1944 until 1945 when he was replaced by Tommy Bernard. Henry Blair appeared as Ricky. Other cast members included John Brown as Syd “Thorny” Thornberry, Lurene Tuttle as Harriet’s mother, Bea Benaderet as Gloria, Janet Waldo as Emmy Lou, and Francis “Dink” Trout as Roger. Vocalists included Harriet Nelson, The King Sisters, and Ozzie Nelson. The announcers were Jack Bailey and Verne Smith. The music was by Billy May and Ozzie Nelson. The producers were Dave Elton and Ozzie Nelson.[2] The show’s sponsors included International Silver Company (1944–49), H.J. Heinz Company (1949–52) and Lambert Pharmacal’s Listerine (1952–54).FilmIn 1952, the Nelsons starred with Rock Hudson in the Universal-International feature film, Here Come the Nelsons. The film depicted Ozzie as an advertising executive assigned to a campaign promoting women’s underwear. Here Come the Nelsons is the first, and only, instance that Ozzie Nelson’s job is clearly stated. The film, produced in the summer of 1951 while the radio show was on hiatus, opened theatrically on February 23, 1952. It also doubled as a “pilot” for the television series, as Ozzie wanted to see if his family would be accepted on film as they were on radio. The success of Here Come the Nelsons convinced him that Ozzie & Harriet’s future was on the small screen, while continuing their weekly radio show (for the time being).Before the show aired, Ozzie Nelson persuaded ABC to agree to a 10-year contract that paid the Nelsons whether the series was canceled or not. The unprecedented contract and Ozzie’s insistence for perfection in the show’s production paid off in the show’s remarkable popularity.The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet premiered on ABC on October 10, 1952, staying until September 3, 1966. The show strove for realism and featured exterior shots of the Nelsons’ actual southern California home at 1822 Camino Palmero Street in Los Angeles as the fictional Nelsons’ home. Interior shots were filmed on a sound stage recreated to look like the real interior of the Nelsons’ home. Like its radio predecessor (which finally ended in 1954), the series focused mainly on the Nelson family at home, dealing with run-of-the-mill problems. As the series progressed and the boys grew up, storylines involving various characters were introduced. Many of the series storylines were taken from the Nelsons’ real life. When the real David and Rick got married, to June Blair and Kristin Harmon respectively, their wives joined the cast of Ozzie and Harriet, and the marriages were written into the series. What was seldom written into the series was Ozzie’s profession or mention of his lengthy and successful band-leading career which was infrequent. The popular joke about his career was..the only time he left the house was to go buy ice cream. According to his grandaughter,actress Tracy Nelson,Ozzie went to Rutgers to study law and when pressed would tell interviewers that the TV Ozzie was a lawyer.By the mid 1960s, America’s social climate was changing, and the Nelsons’ all American nuclear family epitomized the 1950s values and ideals that were quickly becoming a thing of the past. Ozzie, who wrote and directed all of the series’ episodes, attempted to change with the times, but most viewers related the show to a long gone era. The series finally cracked the top 30 programs in the Nielsen ratings during the 1963-64 season when it ranked #29. The show finally made the transition from black-and-white to color in its 1965–66 season. In that season, Ozzie tried to recapture the series’ earlier success portraying a young, growing family, by introducing 9-year old Joel Davison and other boys to interact with the Nelsons and create the illusion of a younger family. Joel appeared in three episodes, but it was too late to reverse declining ratings, and ABC canceled Ozzie and Harriet in 1966.The show ran for a total of fourteen television seasons, and for nearly four decades, held the record as the longest running American television sitcom, live or animated, until the record was broken by The Simpsons in 2004. The show is still the longest running live-action American sitcom in television history.Ozzie’s GirlsIn 1973, David Nelson produced a short-lived syndicated spin-off to Ozzie and Harriet entitled, Ozzie’s Girls, in which Ozzie and Harriet rented the boys’ old room to two college students, portrayed by Susan Sennett and Brenda Sykes. Storylines centered around the Nelsons attempting to aid in the problems of two girls after having raised two sonsThe series’ original pilot episode was shown on NBC in September 1972, but the network declined to schedule a weekly series. The unsold pilot, however, generated enough interest for Ozzie to bypass the network in favor of producing the show for syndication (through Viacom and Filmways).The series premiered on local stations, including New York’s WABC-TV, in September 1973, but was cancelled after one season in September, 1974.RecordingsThe Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made the Nelsons’ youngest son, Rick, into a music teen idol. Ozzie realized the impact his musically gifted son could bring to the series, and went on to write storylines featuring Rick singing. Rick first sang in the April 10, 1957, episode, “Ricky the Drummer,” performing a version of Fats Domino’s hit, “I’m Walkin”, and later signed a recording contract with Domino’s label, Imperial Records. Subsequent episodes that aired after Rick became one of the nation’s most successful musicians were some of the show’s highest-rated episodesTelevision and home video releasesMost of the pre-1964 episodes of the television series are in the public domain in the United States, and have been unofficially released on home video, including VHS and DVD, on many different low-budget company labels. Sixteen DVDs containing episodes from the show are available from Alpha Video.The Rick Nelson Company, LLC, currently owns the rights to the original film elements. An officially released video version of The Best of the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was released May 1, 2007 by Shout! Factory under license from The Rick Nelson Company. Both the Nelson company and David Nelson’s trust hold copyright ownership for any new material derived from the film elements. Rick Nelson’s son, Sam, is currently heading a project to digitize all 435 psiodes from the original 35mm network negatives.Episodes of this television series have been screened at the non-profit Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention held annually in Aberdeen, Maryland. 16 mm prints were used.Collector/historian Martin Grams, Jr. presently owns more than 12 storage bases[clarification needed] of production materials, scripts, casting call sheets, contracts, telegrams, letters and other materials significant to the radio and television series.Author Jim Cox wrote an article for SPERDVAC’s Radiogram in early 2008, discussing the cultural significance of the radio program.SyndicationIn the decades since the show’s cancellation, the series has been continuously shown on stations in public domain prints. Between 1985 and 1994, The Disney Channel aired the show as remastered from original 35 mm film elements, with new introductions by Harriet Nelson.The series was also aired on the Nostalgia TV Network and currently airs on the Retro Television Network (RTV) at 1:00 p.m. EST Monday-Friday.PBS member station KVCR-TV in San Bernardino, California (in the Los Angeles market) aired the show as late as May 2010, connected to the station’s nostalgic television series, I Remember Television.The Nelsons’ post-TV livesOzzie Nelson continued to work in show business after the failure of the short lived sitcom Ozzie’s Girls. He took on the role of producer and director for some of TV’s popular shows, most notably: Adam-12, The D.A., and Bridget Loves Bernie. In 1975, Ozzie Nelson died of liver cancer at the age of 69. In the years after Ozzie and Harriet was canceled, Rick Nelson’s career and personal life changed drastically. Rick never regained the same momentum of his early career, though he continued to pursue a career in music. He shied away from his teen idol image and sound, forming the rock and roll/country fused Stone Canyon Band. Rick and the Stone Canyon Band had success with the 1972 single, “Garden Party”. Ironically, Rick and the Band wrote the song in response to having been booed off the stage at a rock and roll revival concert at Madison Square Garden when he refused to play his old hits from his teen idol days. Throughout the 1970s, Rick’s life was riddled with debt and drug abuse. In 1981, he and wife Kristin Harmon divorced. While touring the United States, Rick Nelson was killed in a plane crash on December 31, 1985, in DeKalb in Bowie County near Texarkana, Texas in northeast Texas. He was en route to a New Year’s Eve concert in Dallas. In 1987, he was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of FameFollowing Ozzie’s death in 1975, Harriet turned somewhat reclusive. In 1989, she made her last onscreen appearance in her granddaughter Tracy Nelson’s TV series, Father Dowling Mysteries. Harriet never fully recovered from son Rick’s death and she herself died of congestive heart failure and emphysema in 1994Ozzie, Harriet, and Rick are interred together in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.David Nelson continued to produce feature films and television commercials and owned his commercial production company until his death from cancer in January 2011. Oswald George “Ozzie” Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975) was an American entertainer and band leader who originated and starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet radio and television series with his wife and two sons.Early lifeThe second son of George Waldemar and Ethel Irene (Orr) Nelson, Ozzie Nelson was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. His ancestry was Swedish and English. Nelson was raised in Ridgefield Park. He graduated from Ridgefield Park High School, where he played on the football team. The street Nelson grew up on is now named after him. Nelson became an Eagle Scout at 13 and was a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He graduated from Rutgers University, where he also played football despite his slight build. He was a member of the Cap and Skull fraternity, and entered Rutgers School of Law Newark. As a student he made pocket money playing saxophone in a band and coaching football. During the Depression he turned to music as a full-time career.Early careerOzzie started his entertainment career as a band leader. He formed and led the Ozzie Nelson Band, and had some initial limited success. He made his own “big break” in 1930. The New York Daily Mirror ran a poll of its readers to determine their favorite band. He knew that news vendors got credit from the newspaper for unsold copies by returning the front page and discarding the rest of the issue. Gathering hundreds of discarded newspapers, the band filled out ballots in their favor. They edged out Paul Whiteman and were pronounced the winners.From 1930 through the 1940s, Nelson’s band recorded prolifically—first on Brunswick (1930–1933), then Vocalion (1933–1934), then back to Brunswick (1934–1936), Bluebird (1937–1941), Victor (1941) and finally back to Bluebird (1941-through the 1940s). Nelson’s records were consistently popular and in 1934 Nelson enjoyed success with his hit song, “Over Somebody Else’s Shoulder” which he introduced. Nelson was their primary vocalist and (from August 1932) featured in duets with his other star vocalist, Harriet Hilliard. Nelson’s calm, easy vocal style was popular on records and radio and quite similar to son Rick’s voice and Harriet’s perky vocals added to the band’s popularity
In 1935, Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra had a number one hit with “And Then Some”, which was number one for one week on the U.S. pop singles chart. Ozzie Nelson composed several songs, including “Wave the Stick Blues”, “Subway”, “Jersey Jive”, “Swingin’ on the Golden Gate”, and “Central Avenue Shuffle”.In October 1935 he married the band’s vocalist Harriet Hilliard. The couple had two children. David (1936–2011), became an actor and director. Eric (“Ricky”) (1940–1985), became an actor and singer.Movies
Ozzie Nelson appeared with his band in feature films and short subjects of the 1940s, and often played speaking parts, displaying a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor (as in the 1942 musical Strictly in the Groove). He shrewdly promoted the band by agreeing to appear in soundies, three-minute musical movies shown in “film jukeboxes” of the 1940s. In 1952, when he and his family were established as radio and TV favorites, they starred in a feature film, Here Come the Nelsons (which actually doubled as a “pilot” for the TV series).Radio and televisionIn the 1940s, Nelson began to look for a way to spend more time with his family, especially his growing sons. Besides band appearances, he and Harriet had been regulars on Red Skelton’s radio show. He developed and produced his own radio series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The show went on the air in 1944, with their sons played by actors until 1949, and in 1952 it moved over to television (the radio version continued for another two years). The show starred the entire family, and America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their boys. Nelson was producer and co-writer of the entire series. He was very hands-on and involved with every aspect of the radio and then TV program.Neither Ozzie or Harriet made any references to their prior successful bandleading and singing careers on their TV program, not even when Ricky started his own singing career. This led to younger people who watched the program to wonder what Ozzie’s character did for a living! However in the previously mentioned pilot/feature film Here Come the Nelsons it was revealed that Ozzie did indeed have a job working for an advertising agency. His boss was portrayed by Frank Nelson (no relation), best remembered as the “Eeeeeyesss!” guy from the Jack Benny Show.His last television show was in the fall of 1973 and entitled Ozzie’s Girls, and lasted for a year. Syndicated only, the premise was Ozzie and Harriet renting their son’s room to two college girls- one white, one black- and concerned Ozzie’s difficulties in living with two teenage girls as opposed to David and Ricky.DeathIn 1973, Ozzie Nelson published his autobiography, Ozzie, (Prentice Hall, 1973, ISBN 0-13-647768-2). He suffered from recurring malignant tumors in his later years, and died of liver cancer. He died at his home in the San Fernando Valley at 4:30 a.m. with his wife and sons at his bedside. Services were held at the Church of the Hills at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, California on Friday, June 6, 1975. He is interred with his wife (1909–1994) and son, pop singer Ricky (1940–1985) in the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.For his contribution to the television industry, Ozzie Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard. He has an additional star with his wife at 6260 Hollywood Boulevard for their contribution to radio.Harriet Nelson (July 18, 1909 – October 2, 1994) was an American singer and actress Nelson is best known for her role on the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.Early life and career
She was born Peggy Lou Snyder in Des Moines, Iowa to Roy Hilliard Snyder and Hazel Dell McNutt. By 1932, she was performing in vaudeville when she met the saxophone-playing bandleader Ozzie Nelson. Nelson hired her to sing with the band, under the name Harriet Hilliard. They married three years later.Hilliard had a respectable film career as a solo performer, apart from the band. RKO Radio Pictures signed her to a one-year contract in 1936, and she appeared in three feature films, the most famous being the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical Follow the Fleet. She was very much in demand during the World War II years for leading roles in escapist musicals, comedies, and mysteries.In Ozzie Nelson’s book, he wrote that Harriet was quite popular during the short time at RKO and they wanted her to continue her solo film career, but decided that it was more important for her to continue with the band and subsequent radio show.Although the couple occasionally appeared together in movies, either as a duo (in Honeymoon Lodge) or as separate characters (in Hi, Good Lookin’), they are best known for their broadcasting efforts. In 1944, the Nelsons began a domestic-comedy series for radio, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. It was highly popular and made a successful transition to television. It was one of the stalwarts of the ABC-TV schedule through 1966. The Nelsons’ two sons, Ricky and David, were featured continuously on the show.In 1973, Ozzie and Harriet also appeared in the short-lived sitcom, Ozzie’s Girls.Later yearsIn the 1978, Harriet Nelson moved full-time to the Laguna Beach, California beach home the family had built in 1954. She died of congestive heart failure on October 2, 1994. She is interred with her husband and younger son Ricky (who died in a plane crash) in the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.For her contribution to the television industry, Harriet Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.David Oswald Nelson (October 24, 1936 – January 11, 2011) was an American actor, director, producer. He was the elder son of bandleader/TV actor Ozzie Nelson and singer Harriet Hilliard and the older brother of singer Eric “Ricky” Nelson.CareerNelson, along with his brother and their parents, appeared on the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in the 1950s and 1960s. During the run of the series, Nelson directed several episodes. After the series’ end, he continued acting, directing and producing. His last film appearance was in Cry-Baby (1990). For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Nelson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1501 Vine Street, on May 9, 1996.
He attended Hollywood High School and was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity while attending the University of Southern California.Nelson had two sons – Daniel Blair and James Eric – from his first marriage with June Blair, which ended in divorce, and two sons and a daughter – John, Eric and Teri – from his second marriage with Yvonne HustonDavid Nelson died on January 11, 2011 in Century City, California from complications of colon cancer. Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Yvonne; four sons (one stepson adopted) and a daughter (stepdaughter adopted); seven grandchildren; three nephews; Matthew, Gunnar and Sam; and a niece, Tracy from brother Rick’s families. David Nelson was cremated, and chose not to be interred in the Nelson family plot in Hollywood Forest Lawn in North Hollywood, California, instead choosing a modest niche in Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery’s outdoor Garden of Serenity columbarium. To date, like fellow cemetery residents Frank Zappa and Roy Orbison, David Nelson’s final resting place remains unmarked.Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985), better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor. He placed fifty-three songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973 including “Poor Little Fool”, which holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on Billboard magazine’s then newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded nineteen additional top-ten hits and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987
Nelson began his entertainment career in 1949 playing himself in the radio sitcom series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and, in 1952, appeared in his first feature film, Here Come the Nelsons. In 1957, he recorded his first single, debuted as a singer on the television version of the sitcom, and recorded a number one album, Ricky. In 1958, Nelson recorded his first number one single, “Poor Little Fool”, and, in 1959, received a Golden Globe Most Promising Male Newcomer nomination after starring in the western film, Rio Bravo. A few films followed, and, when the television series was cancelled in 1966, Nelson made occasional appearances as a guest star on various television programs.Nelson and Sharon Kristin Harmon were married on April 20, 1963, and divorced in December 1982. They had four children: Tracy Kristine, twin sons Gunnar Eric and Matthew Gray, and Sam Hilliard. On February 14, 1981, a son (Eric Crewe) was born to Nelson and Georgeann Crewe. A blood test in 1985 confirmed Nelson was the child’s father. Nelson was engaged to Helen Blair at the time of his death in an airplane crash on December 31, 1985.In 1996, Ricky Nelson was ranked #49 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Stars of All TimeEarly lifeRicky Nelson was born the second son of big band leader Ozzie Nelson who was of Swedish descent and his wife, big band vocalist Harriet Hilliard Nelson (née Peggy Louise Snyder), on May 8, 1940 at 1:25 p.m. at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey. Harriett remained in Englewood, New Jersey with her newborn and her older son David while Ozzie toured the nation with the Nelson Orchestra The Nelsons bought a two-story Colonial in Tenafly, New Jersey, and six months after the purchase, moved with son David to Hollywood, California where Ozzie and Harriet were slated to appear in the 1941-42 season of Red Skelton’s The Raleigh Cigarette Hour; Ricky remained in Tenafly in the care of his paternal grandmother. In November 1941, the Nelsons bought what would become their permanent home: a green and white, two-story, Cape Cod Colonial at 1822 Camino Palmero in Los Angeles. Ricky joined his parents and brother in Los Angeles in 1942. Ricky was a small and insecure child who suffered from severe asthma. At night, his sleep was eased with a vaporizer emitting tincture of evergreen. He was described by Red Skelton’s producer John Guedel as “an odd little kid,” likable, shy, introspective, mysterious, and inscrutable When Skelton was drafted in 1944, Guedel crafted the radio sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, for Ricky’s parents. The show debuted on Sunday, October 8, 1944 to favorable reviews. Ozzie eventually became head writer for the show and based episodes on the fraternal exploits and enmity of his sons. The Nelson boys were first played in the radio series by professional child actors until twelve-year-old Dave and eight-year-old Ricky joined the show on February 20, 1949 in the episode, “Invitation to Dinner.” In 1952, the Nelsons tested the waters for a television series with the theatrically released film, Here Come the Nelsons. The film was a hit and Ozzie was convinced the family could make the transition from radio’s airwaves to television’s small screen. On October 3, 1952, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made its television debut and was broadcast in first run until September 3, 1966 to become one of the longest running sitcoms in television historyEducationNelson attended Gardner Street Public School, Bancroft Junior High, and Hollywood High School between 1954 and 1958 from which he graduated with a B average. He played football at Hollywood High and represented the school in interscholastic tennis matches. Twenty-five years later, Nelson told the Los Angeles Weekly he hated school because it “smelled of pencils” and he was forced to rise early in the morning to attend. At Hollywood High, Nelson was blackballed by the Elksters, a fraternity of a dozen conservative sports-loving teens who thought him too wild. Many of the Elksters were family friends and spent weekends at the Nelson home playing basketball or relaxing around the poo In retaliation, he joined the Rooks, a greaser car club of sideburned high school teens clad in leather jackets and motorcycle boots. He tattooed his hands, wrist, and shoulder with India ink and a sewing needle, slicked his hair with oil, and accompanied the Rooks on nocturnal forays along Hollywood Boulevard randomly harassing and beating up passersby Nelson was jailed twice in connection with incidents perpetrated by the Rooks, and escaped punishment after sucker-punching a police officer only through the intervention of his father. Nelson’s parents were alarmed. Their son’s juvenile delinquency did little to enhance the All-American image of Ozzie and Harriet and they quickly put an end to Ricky’s involvement with the Rooks by banishing one of the most influential of the club’s members from Ricky’s life and their home. Ozzie Nelson was a Rutgers alumnus and keen on college education, but eighteen-year-old Ricky was already in the 93-percent income-tax bracket and saw no reason to attend At thirteen, Ricky was making over $100,000 per annum and, at sixteen he had a personal fortune of $500,000. Nelson’s wealth was astutely managed by parents who channeled his earnings into trust funds. Although his parents permitted him a $50 allowance at the age of eighteen, Rick was often strapped for cash, and, one evening, collected and redeemed empty pop bottles to gain entrance to a movie theater for himself and a date Accustomed to ffluence, Nelson had a cavalier attitude about money and never managed his finances very well. Music careerDebutNelson played clarinet and drums in his tweens and early teens, learned the rudimentary guitar chords, and vocally imitated his favorite Sun Records rockabilly artists in the bathroom at home or in the showers at the Los Angeles Tennis Club. He was strongly influenced by the music of Carl Perkins and once said he tried to emulate the sound and the tone of the guitar break in Perkins’ March 1956 Top Ten hit, “Blue Suede Shoes”.At sixteen, he wanted to impress a friend who was an Elvis Presley fan, and, although he had no record contract at the time, told her that he, too, was going to make a record. With his father’s help, he secured a one-record deal with Verve Records, an important jazz label looking for a young and popular personality who could sing or be taught to sing. On March 26, 1957, he recorded the Fats Domino standard “I’m Walkin'” and “A Teenager’s Romance” (released in late April 1957 as his first single), and “You’re My One and Only Love”.Before the single was released, he made his television rock and roll debut on April 10, 1957 lip-synching “I’m Walkin'” in the Ozzie and Harriet episode, “Ricky, the Drummer”. About the same time, he made an unpaid public appearance as a singer at a Hamilton High School lunch hour assembly in Los Angeles with the Four Preps and was greeted by hordes of screaming teens who had seen the television episode. “I’m Walkin'” reached #4 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart, and its flip side, “A Teenager’s Romance”, hit #2. When the television series went on summer break in 1957, Nelson made his first road trip and played four state and county fairs in Ohio and Wisconsin with the Four Preps who opened and closed for him.] First album, band, and number one singleIn early summer 1957, Ozzie Nelson pulled his son from Verve after disputes about royalties, and signed him to a lucrative five-year deal with Imperial Records that gave him approval over song selection, sleeve artwork, and other production details. Ricky’s first Imperial single, “Be-Bop Baby”, generated 750,000 advance orders, sold over one million copies, and reached number three on the charts. Nelson’s first album, Ricky, was released in October 1957 and hit number one before the end of the year. Following these successes, Nelson was given a more prominent role on the Ozzie and Harriet show and ended every two or three episodes with a musical number. Nelson grew increasingly dissatisfied performing with older jazz session musicians who were openly contemptuous of rock and roll. After his Ohio and Minnesota tours in the summer of 1957, he decided to form his own band with members closer to his age. Eighteen-year-old electric guitarist James Burton was the first signed and lived in the Nelson home for two years. Bassist James Kirkland, drummer Richie Frost, and pianist Gene Garf completed the band Their first recording together was “Believe What You Say”. Rick selected material from demo acetates submitted by songwriters. Ozzie Nelson forbade suggestive lyrics or titles, and his late-night arrival at recording sessions forced band members to hurriedly hide their beers and cigarettes. The Jordanaires, Presley’s back up vocalists worked for Nelson but at Presley’s behest were not permitted credit on Nelson’s albums.In 1958, Nelson recorded seventeen-year-old Sharon Sheeley’s “Poor Little Fool” for his second album Ricky Nelson released in June. Radio airplay brought the tune notice and Imperial suggested releasing a single; but Nelson opposed the idea, believing a single would diminish EP sales. When a single was released nonetheless, he exercised his contractual right to approve any artwork and vetoed a picture sleeve. On August 4, 1958, “Poor Little Fool” became the number one single on Billboard’s newly instituted Hot 100 singles chart, and sold over two million copies. Nelson so loathed the song he refused to perform it on Ozzie and Harriet. Sheeley claimed he ruined her song by slowing the tempoMore generally, Nelson statedAnyone who knocks rock ‘n’ roll either doesn’t understand it, or is prejudiced against it, or is just plain square.NME – November 1958During 1958 and 1959, Nelson placed twelve hits on the charts in comparison with Presley’s eleven (it should be remembered that the latter was then serving in Germany with the U.S. Army). During the sitcom’s run, Ozzie Nelson, either to keep his son’s fans tuned in or as an affirmation of his reputed behind-the-scenes persona as a controlling personality, kept his son from appearing on other television shows that could have enhanced his public profile, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show in particular. In the summer of 1958, Nelson conducted his first full-scale tour, and averaged $5, Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in my career was when six girls tried to fling themselves under my car, and shouted to me to run over them. That sort of thing can be very frightening!NME – May 1960Nelson was the first teen idol to utilize television to promote hit records. Ozzie Nelson even had the idea to edit footage together to create some of the first music videos. This creative editing can be seen in videos Ozzie produced for “Travelin’ Man.”[citation needed] Nelson finally did appear on the Sullivan show in 1967, but his career by that time was in limbo. He also appeared on other television shows (usually in acting roles). In 1973, he had an acting role in an episode of The Streets of San Francisco, in which he played the part of a hippie flute-playing leader of a harem of young prostitutes. In 1979, he guest-hosted on Saturday Night Live, in which he spoofed his television sitcom image by appearing in a Twilight Zone send-up, in which, always trying to go “home”, he finds himself among the characters from other 1950s/early 1960s-era sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Make Room for Daddy, and I Love Lucy.Nelson knew and loved music, and was a skilled performer even before he became a teen idol, largely because of his parents’ musical background. Nelson worked with many musicians of repute, including James Burton, Joe Osborn, and Allen “Puddler” Harris, all natives of Louisiana, and Joe Maphis, The Jordanaires, Scotty Moore and Johnny and Dorsey Burnette.From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had 30 Top-40 hits, more than any other artist except Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (38). Many of Nelson’s early records were double hits with both the A and B sides hitting the Billboard charts.While Nelson preferred rockabilly and uptempo rock songs like “Believe What You Say” (Hot 100 #4), “I Got a Feeling” (#10), “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” (#12), “Hello Mary Lou” (#9), “It’s Late” (#9), “Stood Up” (#2), “Waitin’ in School” (#18), “Be-Bop Baby” (#3), and “Just a Little Too Much” (#9), his smooth, calm voice made him a natural to sing ballads. He had major success with “Travelin’ Man” (#1), “A Teenager’s Romance” (#2), “Poor Little Fool” (#1), “Young World” (#5), “Lonesome Town” (#7), “Never Be Anyone Else But You” (#6), “Sweeter Than You” (#9), “It’s Up to You” (#6), and “Teenage Idol” (#5), which clearly could have been about Nelson himself.In addition to his recording career, Nelson appeared in movies, including the Howard Hawks western classic Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin (1959), plusThe Wackiest Ship In the Army (1960) and Love and Kisses (1965).On May 8, 1961 (his 21st birthday), he officially modified his recording name from “Ricky Nelson” to “Rick Nelson”. (However, not too long before his untimely death, he realized a dream of his. He met his idol, Carl Perkins, who, while musing that they were the last of the “rockabilly breed”, addressed him as “Ricky”.) In 1963, Nelson signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records. After some early successes with the label, most notably 1964’s “For You” (#6), Nelson’s chart career came to a dramatic halt in the wake of The British Invasion.In the mid-1960s, Nelson began to move towards country music, becoming a pioneer in the country-rock genre. He was one of the early influences of the so-called “California Sound” (which would include singers like Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt and bands like the Eagles). Yet Nelson himself did not reach the Top 40 again until 1970, when he recorded Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs to Me” with the Stone Canyon Band, featuring slide guitarist Ric Mix.”Garden Party”
In 1972, Nelson reached the Top 40 one last time with “Garden Party”, a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him, because, in his mind, he was playing new songs instead of just his old hits. When he performed the Stones’ “Honky Tonk Woman” he was booed off the stage. He watched the rest of the performance on a TV monitor backstage and quietly left the Madison Garden without taking a final bow for the finale. He wanted to record an album featuring original material, but the single was released before the album because Nelson had not completed the entire Garden Party album yet. “Garden Party” reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was certified as a gold single. The second single release from the album was “Palace Guard”, which reached number 65 in the charts.Nelson was with MCA at the time, and his comeback was short-lived. Nelson’s band soon resigned, and MCA wanted Nelson to have a producer on his next album. His band moved to Aspen and changed their name to “Canyon”. Nelson soon put together a new Stone Canyon Band and began to tour for the Garden Party album. Nelson still played nightclubs and bars, but soon advanced to higher-paying venues because of the success of Garden Party. In 1974 MCA was at odds as to what to do with the former teen idol. Albums like Windfall failed to have an impact. Nelson became an attraction at theme parks like Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland. He also started appearing in minor roles on television shows.Nelson tried to score another hit, but did not have any luck with songs like “Rock and Roll Lady”. With seven years to go on his contract, MCA dropped him from the label.Nelson studied karate, earning a brown belt before going on to learn Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto. Inosanto described Nelson as a “good martial artist for those times”DeathNelson dreaded flying but refused to travel by bus. In May 1985, he decided he needed a private plane and leased a luxurious, fourteen-seat, 1944 DC-3 for private use that once belonged to the DuPont family and later to Jerry Lee Lewis. The plane’s history was plagued with annoying mechanical issues.[62] In one incident, the band was forced to push the plane off the runway after an engine blew, and in another incident in September, a malfunctioning magneto prevented Nelson from participating in the first Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois.
On 26 December 1985, Nelson and the band left for a three-stop tour of the Southern United States. Following shows in Orlando, Florida and Guntersville, Alabama, Nelson and band members boarded the DC-3 in Guntersville and took off for a New Year’s Eve extravaganza in Dallas, Texas.[63] The plane force-landed northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas less than 2 miles from a landing strip at approximately 5:14 p.m. CST on 31 December 1985, impacting trees on rollout. Seven were killed: Nelson and his fiancée, Helen Blair; bass guitarist Patrick Woodward; drummer Rick Intveld; keyboardist Andy Chapin; guitarist Bobby Neal; and road manager/soundman Donald Clark Russell. Pilots Ken Ferguson and Brad Rank escaped via cockpit windows though Ferguson was severely burned.Nelson’s remains were lost in transit from Texas to California, delaying the funeral for several days. On 6 January 1986, 250 mourners entered the Church of the Hills for funeral services while 700 fans gathered outside. Attendees included ‘Colonel’ Tom Parker, Connie Stevens, Angie Dickinson, and dozens of actors, writers, and musicians. Nelson was privately buried days later in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Kris Nelson threatened to sue the Nelson clan for her former husband’s life insurance money and tried to wrest control of his estate from David Nelson, its administrator. Her bid was rejected by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. Nelson bequeathed his entire estate to his children and did not provide for Eric Crewe, Helen Blair, or Kris Nelson. Only days after the funeral, rumors and newspaper reports suggested cocaine freebasing was one of several possible causes for the plane crash. Those allegations were refuted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The reports vary as to whether or not the plane was on fire before it crashed. According to witnesses, the plane appeared to be on fire before it force-landed. Jim Burnett, then-Chairman of the NTSB, however, said that even though the plane was infested with smoke, the plane landed and came to a stop before it was swallowed by flames The NTSB conducted a year-long investigation and finally stated that, while the definitive cause was still unknown, the crash was probably due to a gas-fueled heater that reportedly had caused in-flight problems. When questioned by the NTSB, Pilots Brad Rank and Ken Ferguson had diversely different accounts of key events. According to co-pilot Ferguson, the cabin heater was acting up after the plane took off. Ferguson continued that Rank kept going back to the back of the plane to see if he could get the heater to function correctly and that Rank told Ferguson several times to turn the heater back on. “One of the times, I refused to turn it on,” said Ferguson. He continued, “I was getting more nervous. I didn’t think we should be messing with that heater en-route.” After the plane crashed, Ferguson and Rank climbed out the windows, suffering from extensive burns. They shouted to the passenger cabin, but there was no response. Ferguson and Rank backed away from the plane, fearing explosion. Ferguson stated that Rank told him, “Don’t tell anyone about the heater, don’t tell anyone about the heater.”[
Pilot Rank, however, told a different story: Rank said that he was checking on the passengers when he noticed smoke in the middle of the cabin, where Rick Nelson and Helen Blair were sitting. Even though he never mentioned a problematic heater, Rank stated that he went to the rear of the plane to check the heater, saw no smoke, and found the heater was cool to the touch. After activating an automatic fire extinguisher and opening the cabin’s fresh air inlets, Rank said that he returned to the cockpit where Ferguson was already asking traffic controllers for directions to the nearest airfield. Rank was criticized by the NTSB for not following the in-flight fire checklist; opening the fresh air vents instead of leaving them closed, not instructing the passengers to use supplemental oxygen, and not attempting to fight the fire with the hand-held fire extinguisher that was in the cockpit. The board said that while these steps might not have prevented the crash, “they would have enhanced the potential for survival of the passengers.”[69] The words of the NTSB seem to echo that of firefighter, Lewis Glover, who was one of the first on the scene. Glover stated,”All the bodies are there at the front of the plane. Apparently, they were trying to escape the fire.” An examination indicated that a fire had originated in the right side of the aft cabin area at or near the floor line. Some reports said the passengers were killed when the aircraft struck obstacles during the forced landing. The ignition and fuel sources of the fire could not be determined. According to another report, the pilot indicated that the crew tried to turn on the gasoline cabin heater repeatedly shortly before the fire occurred, but that it failed to respond. After the fire, the access panel to the heater compartment was found unlatched. The theory is supported by records that showed that DC-3s in general, and this aircraft in particular, had a history of problems with the cabin heaters.Personal lifeIn 1957, Nelson was seventeen when he met and fell in love with Marianne Gaba, who played the role of Ricky’s girlfriend in three episodes of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and Gaba were too young to entertain a serious relationship although, according to Gaba, “we used to neck for hours. The next year, Nelson fell in love with 15-year-old Lorrie Collins, a country singer appearing on a weekly telecast called Town Hall Party. The two wrote Nelson’s first composition, the song “My Gal”, and she introduced him to Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter. Collins appeared in an Ozzie and Harriet episode as Ricky’s girlfriend and sang “Just Because” with him in the musical finaleThey went steady and discussed marriage, but their parents discouraged the idea. At the age of 45, Nelson said the only girl he ever really loved was involved with him for two years in the late 1950s. After she became pregnant and had a nearly fatal abortion, she married another man. At Christmas 1961, Nelson began dating Sharon Kristin “Kris” Harmon (born June 25, 1945), the daughter of football legend Tom Harmon and actress Elyse Knox (née Elsie Kornbrath), and the older sister of Kelly and Mark. The Nelsons and the Harmons had long been friends and a union between their children held great appeal. Rick and Kris were in love and had much in common: quiet dispositions, Hollywood upbringings, and high-powered, domineering fathersThey married on April 20, 1963. Kris was pregnantand Rick later described the union as a “shotgun wedding” Nelson, a non-practicing Protestant, received instruction in Catholicism at the insistence of the bride’s parents, and signed a pledge to have any children of the union baptized in the Catholic faithKris Nelson joined the television show as a regular cast member in 1963. They had four children: actress Tracy Kristine Nelson, twin sons Gunnar Eric Nelson and Matthew Gray Nelson who formed the band Nelson, and Sam Hilliard Nelson.Following the birth of their last child, the marriage deteriorated by 1975, and a very public controversial divorce involving both families was covered in the press for several years. In October 1977, Kris filed for divorce and asked for alimony, custody of their four children, and a portion of community property. The couple temporarily resolved their differences but Kris retained her attorney to pursue a permanent break. Kris was contentious and jealous. Both spent enormous sums of money: Kris on parties, Rick on renting a private Lear jet. Nelson had a tremendous sexual appetite and a casual attitude toward sex, once estimating he had had sex with thousands of women Kris wanted Rick to give up music, spend more time at home, and focus on acting, but the family enjoyed a recklessly expensive lifestyle, and Kris’s extravagant spending left Rick no choice but to tour relentlessly The impasse over Rick’s career created unpleasantness at home. Kris became an alcoholic and left the children in the care of household help. After years of legal proceedings, they were divorced in December 1982. The divorce was financially devastating for Nelson with attorneys and accountants taking over $1 million. Years of legal wrangling followed. Georgeann CreweOn May 16, 1980, Nelson met Georgeann Crewe at the Playboy Resort in Great Gorge, New Jersey. Crewe later claimed she felt “an attachment, an immediate attraction” to Nelson. Crewe unsuccessfully attempted to contact Nelson several times to let him know that she was pregnant, and on March 25, 1981, she gave birth to Nelson’s son, Eric Jude Crewe In 1985, a blood test confirmed Nelson was the father, but Nelson was not interested in Crewe or their son. He declined to meet with them to the point that he avoided playing concerts in Atlantic City. Although Nelson agreed to provide $400 a month in child support, he did not provide for the child in his will. Helen BlairIn 1980, Nelson met Helen Blair, a part-time model and exotic animal trainer, in Las Vegas. Within months of their meeting, she became his road companion, and, in 1982, moved in with him. She was the only woman he dated after his divorce. Blair tried to make herself useful in Nelson’s life by organizing his day and acting as a liaison for his fan club, but Nelson’s mother, brother, business manager, and manager disapproved of her presence in his life. He contemplated marrying her, but eventually declined.[103] Blair died with Nelson in the airplane fire. Her name was never mentioned at Nelson’s funeral Blair’s parents wanted their daughter buried next to Nelson at Forest Lawn Cemetery but Harriet Nelson dismissed the idea.[ The Blairs refused to bury Helen’s remains and filed a $2 million wrongful death suit against Nelson’s estate. They received a small settlement. Nelson did not provide for Blair in his wil] Drug useNelson experimented with marijuana early in his musical career, became a regular user, buried his stash in his yard, and supported marijuana’s legalization. He tried mescaline, was a regular cocaine user and carried the drug in an empty ginseng capsule. During the Nelson divorce proceedings, Rick was accused by his wife’s attorney of using cocaine, quaaludes, and other drugs, and of having “a severe drug problem” encouraged by his managers, his entourage, and his groupies. The attorney noted that Nelson’s “personal manager” secured drugs for Nelson, wild parties took place in Nelson’s home whether he was present or not, and his children, aware of his drug use, were in great physical danger from drugged persons entering and exiting the house at all hours. Following Nelson’s divorce, while he was involved with Helen Blair, his drug use grew so dire friends urged him to seek drug abuse treatmentNelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1515 Vine Street.Along with the recording’s other participants, Nelson earned the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for “Interviews from the Class of ’55 Recording Sessions.”In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Nelson number 91 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. At the 20th anniversary of Nelson’s death, PBS televised Ricky Nelson Sings, a documentary featuring interviews with his children, James Burton, and Kris Kristofferson. On December 27, 2005, EMI Music released an album titled Ricky Nelson’s Greatest Hits that peaked at number 56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.Bob Dylan wrote about Nelson’s influence on his music in his 2004 memoir, “Chronicles, Vol. 1”.Nelson’s estate (The Rick Nelson Company, LLC) owns ancillary rights to the Ozzie and Harriet television series, and, in 2007, Shout! Factory released official editions of the show on DVD. Also in 2007, Nelson was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.John Frusciante song “Ricky” was inspired by Ricky Nelson.For the 25th anniversary of Nelson’s death, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Burton, Nelson’s original guitarist for nearly ten years, spoke about his friendship and experiences with the singer in an extensive series of interviews for Examiner.com. The first installment is entitled “Remembering Rick Nelson: An Interview With His Friend, Guitarist James Burton.”