Gene Nelson
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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Acted in
Murder, She Wrote
1984
as Louis Metcalf
S.O.B.
1981
as Clive Lytell
A Brand New Life
1973
as Harry
Family Flight
1972
as Aircraft Carrier Captain
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
Ghost Story
1972
as Steve
The Mod Squad
1968
Ironside
1967
Burke's Law
1963
as Rick Mason
Burke's Law
1963
as Danny Swift
Thunder Island
1963
as Billy Poole
The Purple Hills
1961
as Gil Shepard
20,000 Eyes
1961
as Dan Warren
The Detectives
1959
Philip Marlowe
1959
Law of the Plainsman
1959
as Hardy O'Hara
Men into Space
1959
The Bell Telephone Hour
1959
as Self
Black Saddle
1959
as Wickes
Rawhide
1959
Bat Masterson
1958
as Whit Morrison
Maverick
1957
as Jim Hazlit
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
The Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self - Dancer
The Rosemary Clooney Show
1956
as Self
Dial 999
1955
as Greg Carradine
Timeslip
1955
as Mike Delaney
Matinee Theater
1955
Oklahoma!
1955
as Will Parker
Gunsmoke
1955
as Hob Cannon
Gunsmoke
1955
as Foss
Gunsmoke
1955
as Hutch
The Millionaire
1955
as Lt. Steven Q. Forrest
So This Is Paris
1954
as Al Howard
Climax!
1954
as Jess Shepard
Three Sailors and a Girl
1953
as Twitch
Crime Wave
1953
as Steve Lacey
She's Back on Broadway
1953
as Gordon Evans
General Electric Theater
1953
She's Working Her Way Through College
1952
as Don Weston
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Robert
Starlift
1951
as Gene Nelson
Painting The Clouds With Sunshine
1951
as Ted
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Lullaby of Broadway
1951
as Tom Farnham
The West Point Story
1950
as Hal Courtland
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
Tea for Two
1950
as Tommy Trainor
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
1950
as Doug Martin
Your Show of Shows
1950
The Walls of Jericho
1948
as Legal Assistant
Studio One
1948
as Trout
Apartment for Peggy
1948
as Jerry (uncredited)
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
1947
as Tommy Yale
This Is the Army
1943
as Soldier (uncredited)
Everything Happens at Night
1939
as Skater
Second Fiddle
1939
as Minor Role