Barry Nelson
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| Barry Nelson | |
 Barry Nelson |
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| Born | April 16, 1920 San Francisco, California |
Barry Nelson (born April 16, 1920) is an American actor noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Nelson was born Robert Haakon Nielsen in San Francisco, California. He began acting in school at age of fifteen, playing an 80 year old man. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1941 and, because of his theatrical efforts in school, was almost immediately signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.
[edit] Career
Nelson made his screen debut in the role as Paul Clark in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Donna Reed. He followed that with his role as Lew Rankin in the film noir crime/drama Johnny Eager (1942) starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner.
During his military service in WWII, Nelson debuted on the Broadway stage in one of the leading roles, Bobby Grills, in Moss Hart's play Winged Victory (1943). His next Broadway appearance was as Peter Sloan in Hart's Light Up the Sky (1948), which was a first-rate success. He also appeared opposite Lauren Bacall in the Abe Burrows comedy Cactus Flower in 1965. Another Broadway role, that of Gus Hammer in The Rat Race (1949), kept Nelson away from the movies again, but after it closed he starred in the dual roles as Chick Graham and Bert Rand in The Man with My Face (1951), which was produced by Ed Gardner of radio fame.
He was the first actor (and, to date, the only American) to play James Bond on screen, in a 1954 adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale on the TV anthology series Climax! (preceding Sean Connery's interpretation in Dr. No by eight years). Reportedly this was considered a pilot for a possible James Bond television series, though it's not known if Nelson intended to continue playing the character. Nelson played James Bond as an American; the program also featured Peter Lorre as the primary villain.
Nelson's additional television credits include guest appearances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey, The Twilight Zone and Dr. Kildare. He appeared regularly on TV in the 1960s. He was one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests and later served as a guest panelist on that popular CBS quiz show. Nelson appeared in both the stage and screen versions of Mary, Mary. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Dan Connors in The Act (1977) with Liza Minnelli. His final appearance on Broadway was as Julian Marsh in 42nd Street (1986).
[edit] Personal life
Nelson has had two wives, actress Teresa Celli (married February 19, 1951-divorced) and Nansilee Hoy (married November 12, 1992-present).
Nelson and his second wife divide their time between homes in New York and France. Nelson can currently be seen publicly at American Civil War Shows across America.
[edit] Partial filmography
- Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) (MGM) ... Paul Clark
- Johnny Eager (1942) (MGM) ... Lew Rankin
- Dr. Kildare's Victory (MGM) (1942) ... Samuel Z. Cutter
- The Human Comedy (1943) (MGM) ... Fat, first soldier
- Bataan (1943) (MGM) ... F.X. Matowski
- A Guy Named Joe (1943) (MGM) ... Dick Rumney
- The Man with My Face (1951) (United Artists) ... Charles "Chick" Graham/Albert "Bert" Rand
- Airport (1970) (Universal) ... Capt. Anson Harris
- Pete 'n' Tillie (1972) (Universal) ... Burt
- The Shining (1980) (Warner Bros.) ... Stuart Ullman
[edit] References
- The Film Encyclopedia(Third edition).Katz,Ephraim.Revised by Fred Klein and Ronald Dean Nolan.Copyright 1998 by HarperCollins Publishers,Inc. ISBN 0-06-273492-X
[edit] External links
- Barry Nelson at the Internet Movie Database
- Barry Nelson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Barry Nelson at TV.com
| Preceded by None |
Unofficial James Bond actor 1954 |
Succeeded by David Niven 1967 |
| James Bond actors |
|---|
| Official - Sean Connery • George Lazenby • Roger Moore • Timothy Dalton • Pierce Brosnan • Daniel Craig Unofficial - Barry Nelson • David Niven • Sean Connery |
