Gene Nelson was barely a teen when he saw the Fred Astaire movie Flying Down to Rio (1933), which would change his life. It was then that he decided he would be a dancer. After graduating from high school, Nelson joined the Sonja Henie Ice Show and toured for 3 years before joining the Army in World War II. After he was discharged, he appeared in ...
| Full Name | Gene Nelson |
| Net Worth | $18 Million |
| Date Of Birth | March 24, 1920 |
| Died | September 16, 1996, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Place Of Birth | Seattle, Washington, USA |
| Height | 1.82 m |
| Occupation | Actor, dancer, screenwriter, film and television director |
| Profession | Actor, Teacher, Film director, Composer, Screenwriter, Television Director, Dancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Marilyn Morgan, Miriam Franklin |
| Children | Chris Nelson, Douglas Nelson, Victoria Gordon |
| Nicknames | Nelson, Gene, Gene Nelson |
| Known For | Kissin' Cousins (1964), Harum Scarum (1965), Mod Squad (1968), The Donna Reed Show (1958) |
| IMDB |
| Awards | Golden Globe Award for Best New Star of the Year – Actor, Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year |
| Nominations | Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Musical, Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year |
| Movies | Oklahoma!, Lullaby of Broadway, Tea for Two, Kissin' Cousins, Harum Scarum, The West Point Story, She's Working Her Way Through College, Crime Wave, So This Is Paris, Painting the Clouds with Sunshine, Three Sailors and a Girl, She's Back on Broadway, Starlift, The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady, Your Ch... |
| Star Sign | Aries |
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | He also served as a professor of Theater Arts at San Francisco State University. |
| 2 | Attended and graduated from Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California. |
| 3 | In high school, he organized and trained a football cheering squad -- writing songs and cheers as well. |
| 4 | He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7005 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960. |
| 5 | Made his professional stage debut as a member of the Fanchon and Marco Juvenile Revue at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles in 1935. He also studied tap with Nick Castle. |
| 6 | Born Eugene Leander Berg, he went to Superior Court in 1964 to change his legal name to Gene Nelson as he wanted to use this for himself and his family. |
| 7 | Suffered a fractured pelvis in 1957 when a horse fell on him while on film location in Tennessee. |
| 8 | Second wife Marilyn Morgen was a studio secretary he married in 1958. She was 12 years his junior. |
| 9 | First wife Miriam Nelson (nee Frankel) was a specialty film dancer from Broadway ("Panama Hattie"). Married in 1941, she worked in Hollywood while Gene served in the United States Army. He joined her later and she was instrumental in helping him work up his innovative dance routines on film. |
| 10 | Nominated for a 1972 Tony Award for Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for his performance as Buddy in the original production of "Follies". |
| 11 | He can be seen as one of the anonymous studio executives in the trailer for the original version of Miracle on 34th Street (1947). |
| 12 | Was romantically involved with Maureen Reagan for several years, although they never married. |
| 13 | Had three children: Chris Nelson, Douglas M. Nelson, and Victoria Nelson Gordo. |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Crime Wave | 1954 | Steve Lacey |
| Three Sailors and a Girl | 1953 | Twitch |
| She's Back on Broadway | 1953 | Gordon Evans |
| She's Working Her Way Through College | 1952 | Don Weston |
| Starlift | 1951 | Gene Nelson |
| Painting the Clouds with Sunshine | 1951 | Ted Lansing |
| Lullaby of Broadway | 1951 | Tom Farnham |
| The West Point Story | 1950 | Hal Courtland |
| Tea for Two | 1950 | Tommy Trainor |
| The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady | 1950 | Doug Martin |
| Apartment for Peggy | 1948 | Jerry (uncredited) |
| The Walls of Jericho | 1948 | Assistant Prosecutor (uncredited) |
| Gentleman's Agreement | 1947 | Second Ex-GI in Restaurant (uncredited) |
| I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now | 1947 | Tommy Yale |
| This Is the Army | 1943 | Soldier (uncredited) |
| Everything Happens at Night | 1939 | Skater (uncredited) |
| Second Fiddle | 1939 | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| Murder, She Wrote | 1987 | TV Series | Louis Metcalf |
| Fantasy Island | 1982 | TV Series | Bert Wilson |
| S.O.B. | 1981 | Clive Lytell |
| The Streets of San Francisco | 1974 | TV Series |
| A Brand New Life | 1973 | TV Movie | Harry |
| Circle of Fear | 1973 | TV Series | Steve |
| Family Flight | 1972 | TV Movie | Aircraft Carrier Captain |
| ITV Sunday Night Theatre | 1970 | TV Series | Burbage |
| Mod Squad | 1968 | TV Series | Burt Koverly |
| Ironside | 1967 | TV Series | Andy Sheldon |
| Burke's Law | 1963-1964 | TV Series | Danny Swift / Rick Mason |
| 77 Sunset Strip | 1963 | TV Series | Lundstrom |
| Thunder Island | 1963 | Billy Poole |
| Follow the Sun | 1962 | TV Series | Tod |
| The Purple Hills | 1961 | Gil Shepard |
| 20,000 Eyes | 1961 | Dan Warren |
| The Detectives | 1961 | TV Series | Jerry Coldwell |
| Shangri-La | 1960 | TV Movie | Robert |
| Gunsmoke | 1959-1960 | TV Series | Hutch Nagle / Foss / Hob Cannon |
| Tom, Dick and Harry | 1960 | TV Movie | Tom Fellows |
| Men Into Space | 1960 | TV Series | Major Charles Randolph |
| Law of the Plainsman | 1960 | TV Series | Hardy O'Hara |
| Black Saddle | 1960 | TV Series | Carl Wicks |
| Philip Marlowe | 1960 | TV Series | Larry |
| Alcoa Theatre | 1959 | TV Series | Tom Burns |
| Rawhide | 1959 | TV Series | Dave Thompson |
| The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna | 1959 | TV Series | Chris Karlsen |
| Bat Masterson | 1959 | TV Series | Police Commissioner Whit Morrison |
| The Millionaire | 1959 | TV Series | Lt. Steve Forrest |
| Have Gun - Will Travel | 1959 | TV Series | Vance - Henchman |
| Northwest Passage | 1959 | TV Series | Dan Wade |
| Kraft Theatre | 1958 | TV Series | Tom |
| Maverick | 1958 | TV Series | Jim Hazlit |
| The Kaiser Aluminum Hour | 1957 | TV Series | Tom Watts |
| Schlitz Playhouse | 1956 | TV Series |
| Chevron Hall of Stars | 1956 | TV Series |
| Matinee Theatre | 1956 | TV Series |
| Climax! | 1956 | TV Series | Jess Shepard |
| Celebrity Playhouse | 1956 | TV Series |
| The Ford Television Theatre | 1955 | TV Series | George Jackson |
| The Way Out | 1955 | Greg Carradine |
| Oklahoma! | 1955 | Will Parker |
| General Electric Theater | 1955 | TV Series |
| The Atomic Man | 1955 | Mike Delaney |
| Shower of Stars | 1954-1955 | TV Series |
| The Best of Broadway | 1955 | TV Series | Roy Lane |
| Studio One in Hollywood | 1955 | TV Series | Trout |
| So This Is Paris | 1954 | Al Howard |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1954 | TV Series | Jerry Walker |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The Earthling | 1980 | performer: "Fast Women and Slow Dancin", "Blind Faith" |
| Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love | 1979 | TV Movie lyrics: "Is There Room In Your World For Me'" / music: "Is There Room In Your World For Me'" |
| Disco Fever | 1978/I | writer: "Till I Get Through to You" - as Gene |
| Oklahoma! | 1955 | performer: "Kansas City" 1943, "I Cain't Say No" 1943, "The Farmer and the Cowman" 1943, "All 'er Nothin'" 1943 - uncredited |
| So This Is Paris | 1954 | performer: "WAIT 'TIL PARIS SEES US", "LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO LOVE, "IF YOU WERE THERE", "A DAME'S A DAME", "THREE BON VIVANTS" |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1954 | TV Series performer - 1 episode |
| She's Back on Broadway | 1953 | performer: "I May Be Wrong", "I'll Take You" - uncredited |
| She's Working Her Way Through College | 1952 | performer: "We're Working Our Way Through College" uncredited, "I'll Be Loving You", "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of", "Am I in Love?" uncredited |
| Starlift | 1951 | performer: "What Is This Thing Called Love?", "It's Magic" - uncredited |
| Painting the Clouds with Sunshine | 1951 | performer: "Tip-Toe thru' the Tulips with Me", "The Birth of the Blues" - uncredited |
| Lullaby of Broadway | 1951 | performer: "Somebody Loves Me", "I Love the Way You Say Goodnight", "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" - uncredited |
| The West Point Story | 1950 | performer: "Long Before I Knew You", "This Is the Finale", "The Toy Trumpet" - uncredited |
| Tea for Two | 1950 | performer: "I Know That You Know", "Crazy Rhythm", "Tea for Two", "Oh Me! Oh My!", "No, No, Nanette" |
| The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady | 1950 | performer: "A Farm off Old Broadway", "How Am I Going to Tell Them at the Yacht Club?", "Just One Girl", "Chatterbox Rag", "Ma Blushin' Rosie", "Winter" - uncredited |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The 69th Annual Academy Awards | 1997 | TV Special | Himself - Memorial Tribute |
| Golden Globes 50th Anniversary Celebration | 1994 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1971-1972 | TV Series | Himself |
| The 26th Annual Tony Awards | 1972 | TV Special | Himself |
| The David Frost Show | 1971 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Mike Douglas Show | 1971 | TV Series | Himself - Actor / Dancer |
| Dateline: Hollywood | 1967 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Bell Telephone Hour | 1959-1962 | TV Series | Himself - Dancer |
| You Bet Your Life | 1960 | TV Series | Himself - Dancer |
| The Garry Moore Show | 1960 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1956 | TV Series | Himself - Dancer |
| The Dinah Shore Show | 1956 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Rosemary Clooney Show | 1956 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1953-1955 | TV Series | Himself - Dancer / Himself - Singer / Himself - Actor |
| Screen Snapshots: Hollywood's Great Entertainers | 1953 | Short | Himself - Ralph Staub's Guest |
| The Bob Hope Show | 1953 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1949-1953 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Actor - scene from 'Lend Me An Ear' |
| Your Show of Shows | 1953 | TV Series | Himself - Guest Performer |
