Harriet Nelson
Actor/Actriz
24
Películas
14
Series
Harriet Nelson will always have a secure place alongside Barbara Billingsley and Jane Wyatt in the "TV's Golden Age Mom Hall of Fame." For fourteen years, she, husband Ozzie Nelson, and their two boys, David Nelson and Ricky Nelson, were the quintessential role models of the '50s ideal nuclear family. Harriet, the daughter of actors, was practically born in a trunk. She made her debut amid the footlights at age 6 weeks with her parents. The Iowa beauty attended St. Agnes Academy in her early years. Quite a dazzler in her youth, she was playing vaudeville when she attracted the attention of saxophone-playing Ozzie Nelson and was hired by him as vocalist for his orchestra in 1932. They married three years later. Harriet had a bold, sassy edge to her that proved a perfect counterpoint to Ozzie's genial, stumbling personality in their off-the-cuff routines. During the '40s, they were regulars on Red Skelton's radio show and even took over the comic's time slot when Red was drafted into the army. As Harriet Hilliard, she moved to leading lady status in a number of cool, snazzy war-era musicals, the most notable as "second lead" to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Follow the Fleet (1936). Other minor efforts included Cocoanut Grove (1938), Sweetheart of the Campus (1941) with Ozzie, Juke Box Jenny (1942), and Honeymoon Lodge (1943), also with Ozzie. Breezy, tuneful films, but nothing to write home about. Once Harriet partnered with Ozzie in their own radio series "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" in 1944, the family-oriented woman's career became unequivocally bound to his. They extended their devoted radio audience to TV (1952-1966). The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (1952), which now included both their sons, made household names of the entire clan. David followed in his father's footsteps as director/producer, while Ricky turned pop teen idol with such hits as "Hello, Mary Lou" and "Travelin' Man," songs that were introduced on the show. Following the show's long run, Ozzie and Harriet lay back a bit and settled in Laguna Beach, California, touring occasionally on stage. A second series entitled Ozzie's Girls (1973) lasted only one season.
Following Ozzie's death in 1975, Harriet turned somewhat reclusive, save for a few mini-movies or guest spots. She never fully recovered from son Ricky's death in a plane crash in 1985. She was the doting grandmother of actress Tracy Nelson and of twin rockers Matthew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson, who were simply called "Nelson." A heavy smoker most of her life, she never smoked in public, feeling it did not befit her "perfect mom" image. She died of emphysema and congestive heart failure in 1994.
Como Actor/Actriz
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
The Love Boat
Henrietta McDonald
Love, American Style
Mrs. Garber
Días Felices
La Isla de la Fantasía
Winnie McLaine
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
La Galería Nocturna
Helena Millikan (segment "You Can Come Up Now, Mrs. Millikan")
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Harriet
Dinah!
Self
This Is Your Life
Self
Father Dowling Mysteries
Once an Eagle
Harriet Nelson
Aloha Paradise
The Movie Orgy
Self (archive footage)
Death Car on the Freeway
Mrs. Sheel
Follow the Fleet
Connie Martin
Disneyland '59
Self
Smash-Up on Interstate 5
June Pearson
The First Time
Charlotte
Cocoanut Grove
Linda Rogers
The Falcon Strikes Back
Gwynne Gregory (as Harriet Hilliard)
High School U.S.A.
Mrs. Crosley
The Kid with the 200 I.Q.
Prof. Conklin
Hi, Good Lookin'!
Kelly Clark
Canal Zone
Susan Merrill
Honeymoon Lodge
Lorraine Logan aka Jenny Hockadayl
Confessions of Boston Blackie
Diane Parrish
A Christmas for Boomer
Grandmother Sinclair
Sweetheart of the Campus
Harriet Hale