The Nelsons

The Nelsons was Originally Posted on January 12, 2011 by lavarock

Prior to the TV series Seinfeld about “nothing”, there were the Nelsons. Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky lived in a calm and comforting America where the biggest decision might be which ice cream Ozzie would have for a snack. With its start on the radio, the show soon moved to TV and used stories from their real family life as episodes.

Ozzie was the father, a bandleader in real life, yet on the series it was never mentioned what his profession was. He attended Rutgers a few years before my Dad, who was also a bandleader at the time.

His wife Harriet was in Ozzies band and on the show along with their two sons, David and Ricky. On TV, Ricky was a singer and might be featured preforming a song.

Ozzie died in 1973, and the family continued, Ricky with his music and David with his television and behind the scenes work.

Ricky was very popular in his later life yet was shocked at the audience at Madison Square Garden when during a Rock and Roll show, was not accepted as he expected. The song Garden Party explains the event. Ricky and the Stone Canyon Band toured the country and I had an opportunity to M.C. one of their events and interview him after the show. While the crowds thinned out, he had me go to the pay phone and place a call for him (to his wife). One question I asked him was how closely he related to his song “Teenage Idol” which speaks of the loneliness of being a performer on the road. He said it was a great question and yes, he did live those lyrics.

A few years later, he and the band died in a plane crash, leaving his twin sons with no Dad. They went on to be popular singers too.

Harriet had fun playing a part in “Airplane” and appearing in a number of productions. She died in the mid 1990’s.

David was the last surviving member of the TV family and passed away yesterday of cancer.

Watching their TV show was like being in their house and the family was just as they appeared on TV, somewhat an oddity in today’s world where people on TV play parts nothing like themselves.

The family will be missed.