Gene Nelson
Born
March 24, 1920
Died
September 16, 1996 (76 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Astoria, Oregon, USA
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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Gene Nelson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Murder, She Wrote
Louis Metcalf · (1 episode)
1984

S.O.B.
Clive Lytell
1981

A Brand New Life
Harry
1973

Family Flight
Aircraft Carrier Captain
1972

The Streets of San Francisco
(4 episodes)
1972

Ghost Story
Steve · (1 episode)
1972

The Mod Squad
(1 episode)
1968

Ironside
(1 episode)
1967

Burke's Law
Rick Mason · (1 episode)
1963

Burke's Law
Danny Swift · (1 episode)
1963

Thunder Island
Billy Poole
1963

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (1 episode)
1962

The Mike Douglas Show
Self · (1 episode)
1961

The Purple Hills
Gil Shepard
1961

20,000 Eyes
Dan Warren
1961

The Detectives
(1 episode)
1959

Philip Marlowe
(1 episode)
1959

Law of the Plainsman
Hardy O'Hara · (1 episode)
1959

Men Into Space
(1 episode)
1959
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self · (3 episodes)
1959

Black Saddle
Wickes · (1 episode)
1959

Rawhide
(0 episode)
1959

Bat Masterson
Whit Morrison · (1 episode)
1958

Maverick
Jim Hazlit · (1 episode)
1957

Have Gun, Will Travel
(1 episode)
1957

The Steve Allen Show
Self - Dancer · (1 episode)
1956
The Rosemary Clooney Show
Self · (1 episode)
1956

Dial 999
Greg Carradine
1955

Timeslip
Mike Delaney
1955

Matinee Theater
(1 episode)
1955

Oklahoma!
Will Parker
1955

Gunsmoke
Hob Cannon · (1 episode)
1955

Gunsmoke
Foss · (1 episode)
1955

Gunsmoke
Hutch · (1 episode)
1955

The Millionaire
Lt. Steven Q. Forrest · (1 episode)
1955

So This Is Paris
Al Howard
1954

Climax!
Jess Shepard · (1 episode)
1954

Three Sailors and a Girl
Twitch
1953

Crime Wave
Steve Lacey
1953

She's Back on Broadway
Gordon Evans
1953

General Electric Theater
(1 episode)
1953

She's Working Her Way Through College
Don Weston
1952

Hallmark Hall of Fame
Robert · (1 episode)
1951

Starlift
Gene Nelson
1951

Painting The Clouds With Sunshine
Ted
1951

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
(1 episode)
1951

Lullaby of Broadway
Tom Farnham
1951

The West Point Story
Hal Courtland
1950

The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · (5 episodes)
1950

Tea for Two
Tommy Trainor
1950

The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
Doug Martin
1950

Your Show of Shows
(1 episode)
1950

The Walls of Jericho
Legal Assistant
1948

Studio One
Trout · (1 episode)
1948

Apartment for Peggy
Jerry (uncredited)
1948

The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (2 episodes)
1948

I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
Tommy Yale
1947

This Is the Army
Soldier (uncredited)
1943

Everything Happens at Night
Skater
1939

Second Fiddle
Minor Role
1939