Ed Nelson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Edwin Stafford Nelson (December 21, 1928 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor.
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.
Known for
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Keith Judge
Murder, She Wrote
Raymond 'Ray' Bascomb
Murder, She Wrote
Judge Willard Clinton
Murder, She Wrote
Henry Post
Murder, She Wrote
Mayor Albert Simpson
Murder, She Wrote
Carl Turnball
Perry Mason
Ward Nichols
Perry Mason
Dirk Blake
MacGyver
Arthur Bandel
Dallas
Jeb Amos
The Fugitive
Paul Clements
The Fugitive
Steve Edson
The Twilight Zone
Philip Redfield
The Rifleman
Mission: Impossible
Van Cleve
Medical Center
Hank
Lou Grant
Cannon
Ironside
Maverick
Maverick
2nd Classmate (uncredited)
Charlie's Angels
George Starrett
Quincy, M.E.
Have Gun, Will Travel
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Tom Keller
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Alex Trevor
The Virginian
Ralph Slocum
Adam-12
Abe Strayhorn
The Rockford Files
Edgar 'Bud' Clement
The Rockford Files
Blake Sternlight
The F.B.I.
Walter Swenson
The F.B.I.
Hamilton
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Nelson
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Jack Bowen
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Albie
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Tantasi
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Vince Harwell
Highway Patrol
Police Woman
Rawhide
Lt. Cory Clemens
Rawhide
Sam Weber
Rawhide
Chuck Whittaker
Bat Masterson
Jedrow
Bat Masterson
Browder
Matt Houston
The Detectives
Barnaby Jones
Larry Kinner
Hotel
Thriller
Brundage
Thriller
Charlie
Thriller
Tom Ellison / Daniel Le Jean
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Capitol
Laramie
Sable
Vega$
The Rebel
Chad
The Rebel
Doug
The Rebel
The Stalker
The Rebel
Clint Mowbree
Tombstone Territory
Cowboy
87th Precinct
Jake and the Fatman
D.A. Marcus Packard
The Outer Limits
Col. Luke Stone
Cagney & Lacey
Sgt. Steingrove
Tightrope
Gunsmoke
Lee Prentice
Gunsmoke
Rusk
Gunsmoke
Perce
Gunsmoke
Seth
Gunsmoke
Burt Cury
Gunsmoke
Tom
77 Sunset Strip
Stoney Burke
The Streets of San Francisco
Sam Benedict
Neil Bracket
Johnny Ringo
Kirk
Johnny Ringo
Tomstedter
Trapper John, M.D.
M Squad
Lenny Maston
Black Saddle
Lee Coogan
Black Saddle
Roy Corey
The Bionic Woman
Night Gallery
Tom Burke (segment “Little Girl Lost”)
Surfside 6
The Aquanauts
Chris Garland
The Mod Squad
Alias Smith and Jones
Checkmate
Gil Stoneham
Checkmate
Chuck Palmer
Harbor Command
Arrest and Trial
The Tall Man
Cain's Hundred
Peter Stull
Finder of Lost Loves
Bill Garnett
CHiPs
The New Breed
Jefty Bright
The New Breed
Roger Sykes
The Dakotas
The Sixth Sense
Riverboat
Jim Tyler
Police Academy 3: Back in Training
Governor Neilson
The Gallant Men
Search
J.J. Starbuck
Runaway Jury
George Dressler
Logan's Run
Dr. Rowan
Redigo
Who Am I?
General Sharman
Coronado 9
Channing
Deke Allison
Midway
Admiral Harry Pearson
Saints and Sinners
Ray
Judgment at Nuremberg
Captain at Nightclub Announcing Call-up of Officers (uncredited)
Gibbsville
The Silent Force
The Boneyard
Jersey Callum
Airport 1975
Major John Alexander
Carnival Rock
Cannon
Peyton Place
Michael Rossi
Hagen
The Crash of Flight 401
Philip Mulwray
The Man from Galveston
Cole Marteen
Kung Fu
Sheriff Walter Raha
Teenage Doll
Police Officer 'Dutch' / Blind Man
She Gods of Shark Reef
Guard (uncredited)
Houston, We've Got a Problem
Gene Kranz, Flight Director
Swamp Women
Police Sergeant
The Screaming Woman
Carl Nesbitt
The Return of Frank Cannon
Mike Danvers
Invasion of the Saucer-Men
Tom
Soldier in the Rain
James Priest
Sworn to Silence
Victor Handler
Riding with Death
Robert Denby
Cries of Silence
Dr. August Claiborne
Attack of the Crab Monsters
Ensign Quinlan
Teenage Cave Man
Blonde Tribe Member
The Steel Trap
Man in Ticket Line at Airport (uncredited)
A Bucket of Blood
Art Lacroix
Night of the Blood Beast
Dave Randall
The Brain Eaters
Dr. Paul Kettering
Cry Baby Killer
Rick Connor
Help Wanted: Male
George Dobbs
Hot Car Girl
Cop #2
Born to Be Sold
Carl Strickland
Peyton Place: The Next Generation
Dr. Michael Rossi
Along Came a Spider
Dr. Martin Becker
Murder in Peyton Place
Dr. Michael Rossi
For the Love of Benji
Chandler Dietrich
The Missing Are Deadly
Devil's Partner
Nick Richards / Pete Jensen
Linda
Paul Reston
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb
President Harry S. Truman
The Young Captives
Norm Britt
Superdome
George Beldridge
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything
Joseph Locordolos
The Fatal Impulse
Brundage
Acapulco Gold
Ray Hollister
Time to Run
Warren Cole
Runaway!
Nick Staffo
Valley of the Redwoods
Dino Michaelis
Deadly Weapon
General Stone
T-Bird Gang
Alex Hendricks
Leave Yesterday Behind
Mr. Clarkson
I, Mobster
Sid - Henchman (uncredited)
A Little Game
Paul Hamilton
Bayou
Etienne (as Edwin Nelson)
Rock All Night
Pete
Doctors' Private Lives
Dr. Mike Wise
Doctors' Private Lives
That's the Way of the World
Carlton James
Brink of Disaster!
Dr. Harden
Anatomy of a Seduction
Mark Kane
New Orleans Uncensored
Charlie
Police Headquarters
Lt. Calvin Zenger