Ed Nelson

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Edwin Stafford Nelson (born December 21, 1928) is an American actor. Nelson has appeared in numerous television shows, more than fifty motion pictures, and hundreds of stage productions. Until 2005, he was teaching acting and screenwriting in his native New Orleans at two local universities there. Hurricane Katrina prompted him to move his family to Sterlington near Monroe in Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana. Nelson began acting while attending Tulane University in New Orleans. He left college after two years to study at the New York School of Radio and Television Technique. After graduating, he took a position as a director at WDSU-TV in New Orleans. By 1956, acting became his central focus and he moved to the Los Angeles area. Early in his career he worked with famed B-movie producer Roger Corman on such Corman films as Cry Baby Killers, A Bucket of Blood, Teenage Cave Man and Attack of the Crab Monsters. In 1958 he participated in Bruno VeSota's science fiction horror film The Brain Eaters. His early television career featured many guest starring roles in such series as The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, Harbor Command, Tombstone Territory, Tightrope, The Blue Angels (as arrogant flight instructor Lieutenant Dayl Martin), Laramie, COronado 9, The Eleventh Hour, Bonanza, Thriller (US TV series), and Channing, an ABC drama about college life. In 1964 he won his most famous role portraying Dr. Michael Rossi on the ABC drama Peyton Place, which ran from 1964 to 1969. Nelson's fellow cast members included Mia Farrow, Ryan O'Neal, and Dorothy Malone. Dr. Rossi proved to be so popular that by 1968, he became the lead actor on the show. Nelson reprised his role in two made-for-TV movies, Murder in Peyton Place and Peyton Place: The Next Generation. After Peyton Place ended, Nelson worked in many more productions of all varieties, including starring role in many movies of the week, a second TV series, "The Silent Force," and a popular morning talk show which he hosted for three years. Soon after, Nelson struck gold with his critically acclaimed portrayal of elusive pit crew chief Robert Denby in the hit film Riding with Death (1976), earning him several prestigious accolades and legions of devoted fans. He portrayed a dangerous impostor in the adventure movie For the Love of Benji (1977). During the 1980s, Nelson took on the role of Senator Mark Denning in the daytime soap Capitol. Nelson also spent a couple of years as Harry Truman onstage replacing James Whitmore for the National Tour of "Give 'Em Hell, Harry." While living in Los Angeles, Nelson was an active member of the Screen Actors Guild and was elected to the union board for many years. Nelson is a long-standing member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and continues a long tradition of participation in voting for the Academy Awards. In 1999, Nelson returned to Tulane University to finish credits toward his undergraduate degree, which he completed the following year at the age of seventy-one. Nelson continues to act as the opportunity arises. He and his wife of fifty-eight years, Patsy, enjoy semi-retirement visiting his six children and fourteen grandchildren. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ed Nelson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Carl Strickland

Born to Be Sold

Art Lacroix

A Bucket of Blood

Code of Silence

Ensign Quinlan

Attack of the Crab Monsters

Major John Alexander

Airport 1975

Warren Cole

Time to Run

Cannon

Carnival Rock

Charlie

New Orleans Uncensored

Dr. Paul Kettering

The Brain Eaters

Tom

Invasion of the Saucer-Men

Jersey Callum

The Boneyard

Nick Richards / Pete Jensen

Devil's Partner

Dave Randall

Night of the Blood Beast

Joseph Locordolos

The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything

Gene Kranz, Flight Director

Houston, We've Got a Problem

General Stone

Deadly Weapon

Cole Marteen

The Man from Galveston

Carl Nesbitt

The Screaming Woman

Norm Britt

The Young Captives

Mark Kane

Anatomy of a Seduction

Dr. Martin Becker

Along Came a Spider

Paul Hamilton

A Little Game

Nick Staffo

Runaway!

Alex Hendricks

T-Bird Gang

Dino Michaelis

Valley of the Redwoods

Dr. Michael Rossi

Murder in Peyton Place

George Beldridge

Superdome

Paul Reston

Linda

General Sharman

我是誰

Admiral Harry Pearson

Midway

Dr. Harden

Brink of Disaster!

Etienne (as Edwin Nelson)

Bayou

President Harry S. Truman

Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb

Robert Denby

Riding with Death

Dr. Mike Wise

Doctors' Private Lives

Victor Handler

Sworn to Silence

Captain at Nightclub Announcing Call-up of Officers (uncredited)

Judgment at Nuremberg

Mr. Clarkson

Leave Yesterday Behind

Sid - Henchman (uncredited)

I, Mobster

Dr. August Claiborne

Cries of Silence

Police Sergeant

Swamp Women

Ray Hollister

Acapulco Gold

Brundage

The Fatal Impulse

Philip Mulwray

The Crash of Flight 401

Mike Danvers

The Return of Frank Cannon

The Missing Are Deadly

Blonde Tribe Member

Teenage Cave Man

Chandler Dietrich

For the Love of Benji

Lt. Calvin Zenger

Police Headquarters

Dr. Michael Rossi

Peyton Place: The Next Generation

George Dressler

Runaway Jury

George Dobbs

Help Wanted: Male

Rick Connor

Cry Baby Killer

James Priest

Soldier in the Rain

Carlton James

That's the Way of the World

Governor Neilson

Police Academy 3: Back in Training

Pete

Rock All Night

Police Officer 'Dutch' / Blind Man

Teenage Doll

Guard (uncredited)

She Gods of Shark Reef

Cop #2

Hot Car Girl

Man in Ticket Line at Airport (uncredited)

The Steel Trap