David Oswald Nelson (October 24, 1936 – January 11, 2011) was an American actor.

Early life

David Oswald Nelson was born October 24, 1936 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Nelson was the elder son of entertainment couple Harriet Hilliard Nelson (born Peggy Lou Snyder; July 18, 1909 – October 2, 1994) and

Ozzie Nelson Oswald George Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975) was an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, musician, composer, conductor and bandleader. He originated and starred in ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'', a radio and tel ...

(March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975). He was the older brother of singer

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

(May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985). In late 1941, David moved with his parents from

Tenafly, New Jersey Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

.Weber, Bruce
"David Nelson, Son in ''Ozzie and Harriet,'' Dies at 74"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 12, 2011. Accessed May 11, 2017. "David Oswald Nelson was born in Manhattan on Oct. 24, 1936. The family lived for a time in Tenafly, N.J., but moved to California when David was about 5."

Career

Adv of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson Family 1952

Along with his brother and their parents, David Nelson appeared on the long-running sitcom ''

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television, where it ...

'' in the 1950s and 1960s. Late in the run of the series, David directed several episodes. After the series' end, he continued acting, directing and producing. His most memorable 'break-out' performance was in the 1959 thriller ''

The Big Circus ''The Big Circus'' is a 1959 film starring Victor Mature as a circus owner struggling with financial trouble and a murderous unknown saboteur. It was produced and cowritten by Irwin Allen, later known for a series of big-budget disaster films. Pl ...

'', wherein David played a disturbed, apparently homicidal 'troubled youth', while his last film appearance was in the campier '' Cry-Baby'' (1990). For his contribution to the motion picture industry, David Nelson was honored with a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

at 1501

Vine Street Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue and Melrose Avenue. The intersection with Hollywood Boulevard was once a symbol of Hollywood itself. The famed intersection fell into di ...

, on May 9, 1996. He attended

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Histo ...

, balancing his studies, playing on the football team and his TV work. He later attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

and was a member of

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and co ...

fraternity.

Personal life

Nelson had two sons—Daniel Blair and James Eric—from his first marriage with June Blair, which ended in divorce, and adopted two sons and a daughter—John, Eric, and Teri—during his second marriage, to Yvonne Huston.

Death

Nelson died on January 11, 2011, in Century City, California, from complications of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

Filmography

Actor

* ''

Here Come the Nelsons ''Here Come the Nelsons'' is a 1952 American comedy film starring real-life husband and wife Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and their sons David and Ricky Nelson. The supporting cast includes Rock Hudson, Sheldon Leonard, Jim Backus, Gale Gordon ...

'' (1952) * ''

'' (320 episodes, 1952–1966) * '' Peyton Place'' (1957) * '' The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'' (1959) * ''

'' (1959) * '' Day of the Outlaw'' (1959) * ''

-30- -30- has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting. It is commonly employed when writing on deadline and sending bits of the story at a time, v ...

'' (1959) * '' The Big Show'' (1961) * '' Hondo'' (1 episode, 1967) * ''Swing Out, Sweet Land'' (1970) * '' The D.A.'' (1 episode, 1971) * ''Smash-Up on Interstate 5'' (1976) * '' Up in Smoke'' (1978) * ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'' (1 episode, 1978) * '' High School U.S.A.'' (1983) * ''

A Family for Joe ''A Family for Joe'' is an American sitcom that starred Robert Mitchum in the title role. It started out as a television movie that aired NBC on February 25, 1990, before turning it into a series that lasted from March 24 until August 19, 1990. Nin ...

'' (1990) * '' Cry-Baby'' (1990)

Director

* ''

'' (3 episodes) * ''O.K. Crackerby!'' (Unknown episodes) * '' Childish Things'' (1969) * ''Easy to Be Free'' (1973) * '' Ozzie's Girls'' (1973) * ''

Death Screams ''Death Screams'' (also titled ''House of Death'' and ''Night Screams'') is a 1982 American slasher film directed by David Nelson. Plot In a small Southern town, couple Ted and Angie are brutally murdered while having sex down by the riverfront ...

'' (1982) * ''

Last Plane Out ''Last Plane Out'' is a 1983 film, directed by David Nelson, son of Ozzie and Harriet. It was based on journalist Jack Cox's (who co-produced the film) experience in Nicaragua when it was ruled by Anastasio Somoza Debayle and his battle agains ...

'' (1983) * '' Goodnight, Beantown'' (1 episode, 1984) * ''A Rare Breed'' (1984)

Producer

* ''Ozzie's Girls'' (1973) * ''Easy to Be Free'' (1973) * ''Last Plane Out'' (1983)

Awards

References

External links

*
Ozzie and Harriet Nelson Papers (includes papers related to David and Ricky)
at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyomin ...

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United St ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, David 1936 births 2011 deaths American male television actors American male film actors American male child actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from New York (state) American television directors Film directors from New Jersey Film producers from New Jersey University of Southern California alumni People from Tenafly, New Jersey American people of Swedish descent Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from colorectal cancer Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Television producers from New Jersey