Harriet Nelson
Encyclopedia
Harriet Nelson was an American singer and actress. Nelson is best known for her role on the long-running sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...

 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
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...

.

Early life and career

She was born Peggy Lou Snyder in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

 to Roy Hilliard Snyder and Hazel Dell McNutt. By 1932, she was performing in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

 when she met the saxophone-playing bandleader Ozzie Nelson
Ozzie Nelson
Oswald George "Ozzie" Nelson was an American entertainer and band leader who originated and starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet radio and television series with his wife and two sons.-Early life:...

. Nelson hired her to sing with the band, under the name Harriet Hilliard. They married three years later.

Hilliard had a respectable film career as a solo performer, apart from the band. RKO Radio Pictures signed her to a one-year contract in 1936, and she appeared in three feature films, the most famous being the Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...

-Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....

 musical Follow the Fleet
Follow the Fleet
Follow the Fleet is a 1936 Hollywood musical comedy film with a nautical theme and stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable also appear, in small supporting roles...

. She was very much in demand during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 years for leading roles in escapist musicals, comedies, and mysteries.

In Ozzie Nelson's book, he wrote that Harriet was quite popular during the short time at RKO and they wanted her to continue her solo film career, but decided that it was more important for her to continue with the band and subsequent radio show.

Although the couple occasionally appeared together in movies, either as a duo (in Honeymoon Lodge) or as separate characters (in Hi, Good Lookin), they are best known for their broadcasting efforts. In 1944, the Nelsons began a domestic-comedy series for radio, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
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...

. It was highly popular and made a successful transition to television. It was one of the stalwarts of the ABC-TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 schedule through 1966. The Nelsons' two sons, Ricky
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...

 and David
David Nelson (actor)
David Oswald Nelson was an American actor, director, producer. He was the elder son of bandleader/TV actor Ozzie Nelson and singer Harriet Hilliard and the older brother of singer Eric "Ricky" Nelson.-Career:...

, were featured continuously on the show.

In 1973, Ozzie and Harriet also appeared in the short-lived sitcom,
Ozzie's Girls
Ozzie's Girls
Ozzie's Girls is an American sitcom spin-off of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which ran in first-run syndication during the 1973-74 season...

.

Later years

In the 1978, Harriet Nelson moved full-time to the Laguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city and artist community located in southern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southwest of the county seat of Santa Ana...

 beach home the family had built in 1954. She died of congestive heart failure on October 2, 1994. She is interred with her husband and younger son Ricky (who died in a plane crash) in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...

 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.

For her contribution to the television industry, Harriet Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

 at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...

.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1932 The Campus Mystery Wanda Perry
1936 Follow the Fleet
Follow the Fleet
Follow the Fleet is a 1936 Hollywood musical comedy film with a nautical theme and stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable also appear, in small supporting roles...

Connie Martin
1937 New Faces of 1937 Patricia "Pat" Harrington
1937 The Life of the Party Mitzi Martos
1938 Cocoanut Grove Linda Rogers
1941 Sweetheart of the Campus
Sweetheart of the Campus
Sweetheart of the Campus is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Cast:* Ruby Keeler as Betty Blake* Ozzie Nelson as Ozzie Norton* Harriet Hilliard as Harriet Hale...

Harriet Hale Alternative title: Broadway Ahead
1941 Confessions of Boston Blackie
Confessions of Boston Blackie
Confessions of Boston Blackie is a 1941 American crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Cast:* Chester Morris as Boston Blackie* Harriet Hilliard as Diane Parrish* Richard Lane as Inspector Farraday* George E...

Diane Parrish
1942 Canal Zone Susan Merrill
1942 Juke Box Jenny Genevieve Horton
1943 Hi, Buddy Gloria Bradley
1943 The Falcon Strikes Back
The Falcon Strikes Back
The Falcon Strikes Back is a 1943 American crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Cast:* Tom Conway as Tom Lawrence* Harriet Hilliard as Gwynne Gregory* Jane Randolph as Marcia Brooks* Edgar Kennedy as Smiley Dugan* Cliff Edwards as Goldie Locke...

Gwynne Gregory
1943 Gals, Incorporated Gwen Phillips Alternative title: Gals, Inc.
1943 Honeymoon Lodge Lorraine Logan
1943 Swingtime Johnny Linda
1944 Hi, Good Lookin'! Kelly Clark
1944 Take It Big Jerry Clinton
1952 Here Come the Nelsons Harriet Alternative title: Meet the Nelsons
1952–1966 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
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...

Harriet Nelson 434 episodes
1969–1973 Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...

3 episodes
1972 Night Gallery
Night Gallery
Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...

Helena Millikan Episode: "You Can Come Up Now, Mrs. Millikan/Smile, Please"
1973 Ozzie's Girls
Ozzie's Girls
Ozzie's Girls is an American sitcom spin-off of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which ran in first-run syndication during the 1973-74 season...

Harriet Nelson 24 episodes
1976 Once an Eagle
Once an Eagle
Once An Eagle is a nine hour American television mini-series directed by Richard Michaels and E.W. Swackhamer. The picture was written by Peter S...

Harriet Nelson Miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

1976 Smash-Up on Interstate 5
Smash-Up on Interstate 5
Smash-Up on Interstate 5 is a 1976 made-for-tv disaster film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey. Based on the novel Expressway written by Trevor Dudley Smith, the film chronicles the aftermath of a 39 car smash-up in California.- Plot :...

June Pearson Television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...

1977 NBC Special Treat
After school special
The American Broadcasting Company coined the term after school special in 1972 with a series of made for television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be viewed by school age children, particularly...

Elderly shopkeeper Episode: "Five Finger Discount"
1977 The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...

Henretta McDonald Episode: "The Identical Problem/Julie's Old Flame/Jinx"
1978 Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...

Winnie McLaine Episode: "The Over the Hill Caper/Poof! You're a Movie Star"
1979 Death Car on the Freeway
Death Car on the Freeway
Death Car on the Freeway is a 1979 made for television movie starring Shelley Hack. In a plot similar to Steven Spielberg's Duel, this tells the story of an unseen psycho driver who is dubbed the Freeway Fiddler....

Mrs. Sheel Television movie
1979 A Christmas for Boomer Television movie
1981 Aloha Paradise Episode: "Best of Friends/Success/Nine Karats"
1982 Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....

Marge Episode: "Empty Nest"
1982 The First Time Charlotte Television movie
1983 The Kid with the 200 I.Q. Professor Conklin Television movie
1987 Time Out for Dad Mary McLaughlin Television movie
1989 Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries is an American television mystery series that appeared between November 30, 1987 and May 2, 1991. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to ABC network for its last two seasons...

Sister Agnes Episode: "The Man Who Came to Dinner Mystery"

External links

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