Gene Nelson

This article is about the American entertainer. For the baseball player, see Gene Nelson (baseball).

Gene Nelson
Born	Leander Eugene Berg March 24, 1920(1920-03-24) Astoria, Oregon
Died	September 16, 1996(1996-09-16) (aged 76) Los Angeles, California
Other names	Gene Berg Eugene E. Nelson
Occupation	Actor, dancer, screenwriter, film and television director
Spouse	Miriam Franklin (1941–1956) Marilyn Morgan (1958–1974) Jean Martin (July 1990 – ?)

Gene Nelson (March 24, 1920 – September 16, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director.

Biography

Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he moved to Seattle when he was one year old. He was inspired to become a dancer by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films 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 on stage in Follies, which garnered him a Tony Award nomination, and Good News.

Gene Nelson played Will Parker in Oklahoma! (1955)and also starred as Buddy in the 1971 Broadway musical Follies, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor. The iconic production featured a score by Stephen Sondheim and was co-directed by Michael Bennett (also choreographer) and Harold Prince (also producer); the cast also included Alexis Smith, Yvonne de Carlo, Dorothy Collins, Ethel Barrymore Colt, Ethel Shutta, and John McMartin.

Nelson directed episodes of the original Star Trek, the first season of I Dream of Jeannie, and Gunsmoke. In 1959, he appeared with Keith Larsen and Buddy Ebsen in the NBC adventure series Northwest Passage as a young man trying to prove his innocence in a murder case.

Nelson also directed the Elvis Presley films Kissin' Cousins (1964) and Harum Scarum (1965). He also co-wrote the Kissin' Cousins screenplay for which he received a WGA award nomination for best written musical.

In 1957, a horse fell on Nelson and fractured his pelvis. He legally changed his name in 1964. He died of cancer, aged 76, in Los Angeles, California. He was survived by three children, Douglas, Victoria and Chris.

Gene's last work as a director/choreographer was a production of 42nd Street, which he staged at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California in the Spring of 1994^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

• Everything Happens at Night (1939)
• This Is the Army (1943)
• I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947)
• Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
• The Walls of Jericho (1948)
• Apartment for Peggy (1948)
• The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950)
• Tea for Two (1950)
• The West Point Story (1950)
• Lullaby of Broadway (1951)
• Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951)
• Starlift (1951)
• She's Working Her Way Through College (1952)
• She's Back on Broadway (1953)
• Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
• Crime Wave (1954)
• So This Is Paris (1955)
• The Atomic Man (1955)
• Oklahoma! (1955)
• The Way Out (1955)
• 20,000 Eyes (1961)
• The Purple Hills (1961)
• Thunder Island (1963)
• S.O.B. (1981)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film
1951	Golden Globe Award	Win	Most Promising Newcomer	Tea for Two
1965	Writers Guild of America Award	Nominated	Best Written American Musical	Kissin' Cousins(Shared with Gerald Drayson Adams)

External links

• Gene Nelson at the Internet Broadway Database
• Gene Nelson at the Internet Movie Database