Nelson Olmsted
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Nelson Olmsted (January 28, 1914,
Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
– April 8, 1992,
Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...
) was an actor in films and recordings, and on radio and television, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Sometimes billed as Nelson Olmstead, he was best known for an unusual NBC radio series, ''Sleep No More'' (1956–57), in which he narrated his own adaptations of terror tales and science-fantasy stories.


Life & legacy

After study at the University of Texas, Olmsted began in radio in the late 1930s as an announcer for WBAP in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
. When he launched ''Black Night'' (1937–1939), a late-night 30-minute horror series, it was only a local program, but it created a sensation, with mail arriving at WBAP from ten states. A review in ''Radio News'' took note of the chilling music (by Gene Baugh) and horrific sound effects (by A.M. Woodford). Produced by Ken Douglass, the series began November 5, 1937, with
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
's "
The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the nar ...
" and then continued on with original scripts by Virginia Wiltten. Olmsted starred and was heard in a variety of different roles. Within a year, the impact of ''Black Night'' catapulted Olmsted to New York, where he was immediately established as NBC's resident storyteller, a position he held for over a decade, beginning with ''The World's Greatest Short Stories'' (1939, 1944, 1947) and ''Dramas by Olmsted'' (1940–41). Today, Olmsted is best remembered for his spoken word recordings released by the Vanguard Recording Society. One of these was the LP version of ''Sleep No More!'' The album's back cover featured a box in which Olmsted delivered a capsule summary of his life: : Now that I think of it, we had a sort of Golden Age of Drama down in Austin, Texas, during those depressed middle thirties. There was the Curtain Club of the University of Texas and Austin's Little Theatre, and working between them were such aspirants as Zachary Scott, Elaine Anderson Scott,
Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...
,
Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...
, Brooks West and Alma Holloway, whom I had sense enough to marry. Most of them came on to New York, fought the actor's battle, and made it one way or another. I stayed behind with the security of a radio announcer's job. By the time I moved to WBAP, in Fort Worth, this security was pulling, and the announcer's life seemed endlessly sterile. What to do about it? Dramatic shows cost money and there were no budgets. The cheapest drama for radio I could think of was good literature, read aloud. Especially the work of that great dramatist who never wrote a play – Edgar Allan Poe. WBAP gave me some time with which to experiment. That was way back in 1939 – and it worked. By 1940, the storytelling show was on NBC for a ten-year run. There were a couple of years out for the Army, but even so I managed to tell stories over the Army radio network in Italy. Television brought rough competition to the industry. Rather than fight, I joined by adapting some of the best stories into plays, selling them to
Fred Coe Frederick Hayden Hughs Coe (December 23, 1914 – April 29, 1979) was an American television producer and director most famous for '' The Goodyear Television Playhouse''/'' The Philco Television Playhouse'' in 1948-1955 and ''Playhouse 90'' from ...
, and playing a part in them – sometimes the lead. So – in the long run – I got to New York, too, and made it as an actor, literally by telling stories! At one point, Olmsted lived in Flower Hill, New York, at 243 Mason Drive. A small green space on Mason Drive just north of his former home is named Nelson Olmsted Green in honor of Olmsted.


Television and films

Olmsted's appearances during the era of live television began in 1950 with ''The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre'' and '' Lights Out'', followed by ''
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to ''Schlitz Playh ...
'' (1951). ''
The Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the ...
'' (1951–52), ''
Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...
'' (1951–52), ''
Tales of Tomorrow ''Tales of Tomorrow'' is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as ''Frankenstein'' starring Lon Chaney Jr., ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' ...
'' (1952), ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...
'' (1952), ''
Goodyear Television Playhouse ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television. Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' ...
'' (1953), ''
Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The Live television, live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run ...
'' (1953–54), '' Studio One'' (1954–55), ''
The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on the CBS Television Network from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes wer ...
'' (1955–59) and ''
NBC Sunday Showcase ''NBC Sunday Showcase'' was a series of hour-long specials telecast in color on NBC during the 1959–60 season. The flexible anthology format varied weekly from comedies and science fiction to musicals and historical dramas. The recent introdu ...
'' (1959). In October 1952, Olmsted replaced Robert Waldrop as the narrator and star of the regional ''Ohio Story'' radio and television series. The series, sponsored by
Ohio Bell The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, now doing business as AT&T Ohio, is the Bell Operating Company serving most of Ohio and parts of West Virginia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. Its headquarters is the Ohio Bell Building at 750 Huron Ro ...
, written by
Frank Siedel Frank Siedel (September 5, 1914 – May 9, 1988) was an American writer, historian, educator, and broadcaster. Siedel wrote over 1,500 movie, radio, and television scripts and two historical novels: ''The Ohio Story'' and ''Out of The Midwest''. ...
and produced by
Stuart Buchanan Stuart Buchanan (March 18, 1894 – February 4, 1974) was an American voice actor, announcer, radio and TV producer, advertising executive, athlete and educator. He is known for his work at The Walt Disney Company as a casting director and voicin ...
, ran for 15 years. At the time the series was the longest-running regional scripted program in the nation. When the series came to an end in 1961, 1,309 radio and 175 television episodes had been produced. Olmsted narrated and starred in almost all of the television episodes and approximately 300 of the radio episodes. Ray Culley of
Cinécraft Productions Cinécraft Productions, Inc. is a privately held American sponsored film and Television studio, video production studio in Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio. The studio is said to be the longest-standing sponsored film and video production house in th ...
directed the television episodes.Frank Siedel – Ohio Story Radio Scripts, Ohio Genealogical Society
/ref> Olmsted made guest appearances on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
court drama series ''
Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...
'', including the role of murderer Arthur Colemar in the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee." He guest-starred in the Fess Parker ''
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
'' series, Season 5 episode 19 as Thaddeus King from Bourbon County, Kentucky. He also guest-starred in a 1961 episode, "A Doctor Comes to Town," of the series ''
Window on Main Street ''Window on Main Street'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Robert Young about an author who returns to his home town after an absence of many years to write about the people and events there. Original episodes aired from Oc ...
''. He continued in television until the mid-1970s. His film roles included ''Middle of the Night'' (1959), ''
That Touch of Mink ''That Touch of Mink'' is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Delbert Mann, and starring Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young and Audrey Meadows. Plot Cathy Timberlake, a New York career woman looking for a job, walks to the unempl ...
'' (1962), ''Diary of a Madman'' (1963), ''Fitzwilly'' (1967) and ''
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western (genre), Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, k ...
'' (1969). His last movie was ''Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell'' (1977).


Filmography


References


External links


Old Time Radio Fan: ''Sleep No More''

Tennessee Bill's OTR: ''Sleep No More''

''The Ohio Story: Tenth Anniversary'' – Nelson Olmsted stars and narrates this celebration of ten years of broadcasting the Ohio Story

''The Ohio Story: Backstage at the Big Top'' – Nelson Olmsted stars and narrates the TV episode on the Ohio-based Mills Brothers Circus
* *

* ttp://www.otrplotspot.com/sleepNoMore.html OTR Plot Spot: ''Sleep No More''– plot summaries and reviews
"Sleep No More" radio series
Text and photos on ''Digital Deli'' an otr research site. Retrieved 2013-05-12. {{DEFAULTSORT:Olmsted, Nelson American male film actors American male radio actors 20th-century American male actors Actors from Minneapolis People from Flower Hill, New York 1914 births 1992 deaths