Posted on 01/11/2011 8:25:28 PM PST by EveningStar
David Nelson, who grew up in front of America in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," died Jan. 11 in Century City, Calif., of complications from colon cancer. He was 74.
Nelson was the last surviving member of the Nelsons TV family: actor-bandleader Ozzie; his singing wife, Harriet Hilliard; and his teen-idol younger brother, Rick.
(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...
In that first sentence, I was referring to Johnny Crawford. That wasn’t clear, I’m afraid! :( Now that you mentioned him, I remember him and J. Provost!
Rest in peace, David.
I knew I should have signed-out when Fiddlstix signed-out.
Just damn. Very sad.
Never watched the show but seemed like nice folks. Prayers to everyone who liked the show since he is the last surviving family member there may not be anyone to pray for except his fans. I will add his soul to my prayer listing.
I was so in love with Ricky Nelson! Can remember my friends & I would call each other while the show was on & drool over him!
Was Rosanne Barr a bit player on one of those 70’s shows? Seems like I saw ger some before she showed up with her own show.
It was the afternoon of New Years Eve. I was driving wife and kids back to the DFW area from Little Rock on I-30. Seems we were somewhere near Sulphur Springs when the news came over the radio of the crash. It happened not too far from the S. Springs locale, as I recall. I believe it was later determined that Rick’s DC-3 crashed because of a fire from a heater in the passenger area that was fueled by him or some of his band members doing a little free-basing.
Isn’t Johnny Crawford (from The Rifleman) still alive? He would probably only be in early ‘60s now. I once managed some apartments in Dallas and the producer, director, several actors and actresses were given apartments to stay in by the owner (a wealthy oil man), while they were filming a movie in the area of Mountain Creek Lake (West Oak Cliff). Johnny Crawford and Rory Calhoun were in the low budget movie (Indian Paint). Johnny played a young Indian boy. Rory was just a cowboy, I think, but they had lots of trouble with him because he was drunk 24/7 and was a pain in the ass to everyone.
Whew... That’s another show I grew up watching in the ‘60s.
RIP.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years. The series starred Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Nelson (née Hilliard), and their young sons, David Nelson and Eric Nelson, better known as Ricky. Don DeFore had a recurring role as the Nelsons' friendly neighbor "Thorny". The series attracted large audiences, and although it was never a top-ten hit, it became synonymous with the 1950s ideal American family life. It is the longest-running "live-action"/non-animated sitcom in US TV history.
I had no idea that show started before I was born! Wow, 14 years. I remember watching that show in the early '60s, along with 'Leave it to Beaver', 'Father Knows Best', 'The Donna Reed Show', etc. Those were the days. Sure it was all phony, but those shows emphasized the ideal of normal family life. ...Exactly the kind of ideal, traditional family life liberals mock and deride, even as they attempt to destroy the basic family unit.
In addition to his acting in bit parts, Max Baer Jr.’s uncle, Buddy Baer, was also a heavyweight boxer. He challenged Joe Louis for the title. Max Baer Sr. was also heavyweight champion for a short time in the early 1930’s.
Rick Nelson and his band were NOT free-basing. That was an ugly story invented by the media. The DC-3 Rick was flying was a WWII vintage airplane, and the wiring was faulty. That’s what caused the crash. I saw this on a program featuring Rick’s children, Tracy, Matthew, and Gunnar.
Donna Reed died in 1986.
Another star from the 50’s is gone. Darn, Darn, Darn.
Much more here...
Goodnight Dave. RIP.
David did Circus Trapeze.
Donna Reed is dead.....sadly.
O.K., JGW. .....That’s just what I remembered from what was in the press 25 years ago.
I feel fortunate to remember anything about the incident, so I could be wrong. lol
If you are talking about the TV family, you are correct. Otherwise:
Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Yvonne; four sons and a daughter; seven grandchildren; three nephews; Matthew, Gunnar and Sam; and a niece, Tracy.
Yep, and internal heater caught fire.
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