{"id":86610,"date":"2022-09-07T15:19:22","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T15:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?p=86610"},"modified":"2023-02-28T14:50:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T14:50:00","slug":"cvs-the-nelson-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/cvs-the-nelson-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nelson Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on the Astound TV Network with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In an earlier blog entry we examined the lead characters in the popular, long-running 1950s and early 60s television family sitcom, <\/span>The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet <\/i><\/a><\/strong>program.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Nelson children had an interesting history as well!<\/span><\/p>\n

Ozzie Nelson<\/a><\/strong> was an orchestra leader who sometimes teamed with Harriet (born Peggy Lou Snyder) for events before both were asked to appear at the same time on a national radio show called “The Baker’s Broadcast”<\/a><\/strong> in the early 1930s.\u00a0 One of the initial hosts of the show was Robert Ripley<\/a><\/strong> (remember “Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not?<\/a><\/strong><\/span>“)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ozzie and Harriet married in 1935 and decided, as opposed to continuing to work independently, they would see more of each other by working the same gigs.\u00a0 After appearing on some of the top radio programs in the 1940s, included “The Red Skelton Show<\/a><\/strong>,” “The Fred Allen Show<\/a><\/strong>” and “Suspense,” which led to their own radio vehicle.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Skelton was drafted in 1944, Ozzy was left to create his own family situation comedy on Red’s program, giving him valuable experience he would need a couple years later to develop his own television show.\u00a0 It was there that Nelson \u201ccreated\u201d a pair of boys for his radio family.<\/span><\/p>\n

Contrary to popular belief, Ozzie and Harriet did NOT use their real sons at the start of the program.\u00a0 Instead they auditioned many established child actors for the part, hoping to keep their real children out of show business\u2013at least initially.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using the names of his real-life children, Ozzie hired Henry Blair to play the role of \u201cRicky.”\u00a0 The role of \u201cDavid\u201d was shared by Joel Davis and then later Tommy Bernard for the first five seasons of their radio program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Itching to get into show business, the \u201creal\u201d Ricky and David persuaded their parents to let them take over \u201ctheir\u201d roles during the fifth season of the radio program in 1949.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the show made the jump to television in October 1952, the entire family was on board.<\/span><\/p>\n

By 1957, Ricky had become one of the most sought after heartthrobs on television\u2013it is widely believed that the first use of the term \u201cteen idol\u201d was used for him.\u00a0 During the show\u2019s run, they frequently featured Ricky\u2019s singing talents and he launched a very successful singing career, placing 53 songs on Billboards \u201cTop 100\u201d charts during his career.<\/span><\/p>\n

David, meanwhile, preferred to hone his acting skills and accepted more dramatic roles in films, starting with the 1959\u2019s thriller, <\/span>The Big Circus<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>He also showed an interest in directing, manning several later episodes of \u201cOzzie and Harriet\u201d and eventually directed motion pictures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the \u201ckids\u201d real-life stories were used as the basis of \u201cThe Adventures\u2026\u201d\u00a0 episodes’ plots.\u00a0 As both Ricky and David got older and married (Kristin Harmon and June Blair, respectively), their wives then joined the cast as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

In all, the series would go on for a record-setting 14-year sojourn on television alone and all four family members would become household names\u2013which didn\u2019t exactly sit well with Rick (who tried to shed his childhood persona by dropping the \u201cy\u201d from his first name).<\/span><\/p>\n

As time wore on, Rick looked to move past his wholesome image of the \u201cOzzie and Harriet\u201d days and be taken seriously as a\u00a0 rock-and-roll performer of later 1960s and 1970s style music, but many fans of the television show wanted to hear his hits made famous during the 1950s program.<\/span><\/p>\n

One one occasion at Madison Square Garden, when Rick insisted on playing more modern music, \u201coldies\u201d fans booed him off the stage.\u00a0 The humiliating experience inspired Rick to write the song \u201cGarden Party,\u201d which ended up being his final hit song, placing 6th on the pop charts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rick died in a plane crash on New Year\u2019s Eve 1985.\u00a0 He was just 45.<\/span><\/p>\n

David continued to act and direct films until making his last appearance in the 1990 film,<\/span> Cry Baby.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>He was honored with a star on Hollywood\u2019s Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture industry in 1996.\u00a0 In 2011, David died at the age of 74 from colon cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can revisit the Nelson children in their early years in <\/span>The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet<\/span><\/i>, which airs weekly on Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m and Wednesday mornings at 9am on ATVN.<\/span><\/p>\n

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on the Astound TV Network, check out the weekly listings here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The views expressed in this blog are<\/span><\/i> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation. 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