See the link below for a recent interview with Kris. Among the topics she discusses are Ozzie & Harriet and (of course) Rick.

http://santafe.com/articles/for-kristin-nelson-life-and-art-finally-come-together-peacefully-in-santa-fe/

Thanks so much for posting that. I found her answers to be interesting. Like the following:

"SF: And did Ozzie and Harriet embrace you?"

"KN: Completely. When we told them about our engagement, Ozzie’s first comment was, “Great, great. Can you act?"

Thanks Matt77b for this interesting article. Kris certainly seems to have mellowed and finally found herself. I remember from the bios on Rick, she was an absolute terror in her younger years.

Interesting!! Thanks for posting. :cool:

Great article! Thanks, Matt for posting it for us. :wave: The pictures of her are great. She looks well and I hope she does start writing that book on Rick.

Great interview thanks for posting.

Thanks Matt77b for this interesting article. Kris certainly seems to have mellowed and finally found herself. I remember from the bios on Rick, she was an absolute terror ion her younger years.



I read the same thing. She was a spendaholic, Rick couldn't make the money fast enough, and she spent him into having to borrow from David. When he died, I saw her on some program, saying "he took the easy way out". I took that to mean, she gets no more money. In the interview, she made a comment along those lines.
("I had no money, I had to get a job")


I agree with her on one point for sure. We moved to southern New Mexico last year. Beautiful place to live.

It was interesting to see Kris on a 1970 episode of Green Acres. Had her acting career gone deeper and longer, she could have had plenty of her own money to "blow"...!

I read the same thing. She was a spendaholic, Rick couldn't make the money fast enough, and she spent him into having to borrow from David. When he died, I saw her on some program, saying "he took the easy way out". I took that to mean, she gets no more money. In the interview, she made a comment along those lines.
("I had no money, I had to get a job")


Rick took the easy way out? What on earth did she mean? By dying? An appropriate comment if Rick's death had been suicide, but that was not the case.

Rick took the easy way out? What on earth did she mean? By dying? An appropriate comment if Rick's death had been suicide, but that was not the case.

Yes, I took it to mean it was easier for him just to punch out, than to pay her the money he owes her. That's why it really bothered me when she said that. It was about the money. We all say things we regret saying, I'm sure she does too.

He was really strapped for cash at the end, and in his bio, it said he was behind in his payments to her,(according to Kris, anyways). That's why he was criss-crossing the country every night, to catch up on what he owed, and his obligations to Kris.

It was interesting to see Kris on a 1970 episode of Green Acres. Had her acting career gone deeper and longer, she could have had plenty of her own money to "blow"...!
Wow, I never knew she was on Green Acres. You really do learn something new every day!! :lol:

Thanks Matt77b for posting this!

Question about Kris - Is the story (http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/n/rickynelson/rick.htm) about Kris attacking her daughter at Rick's funeral true?

Thanks Matt77b for posting this!

Question about Kris - Is the story (http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/n/rickynelson/rick.htm) about Kris attacking her daughter at Rick's funeral true?


I had read from different sources that she attacked her daughter at the funeral, when finding out she was specifically excluded from Rick's will, and not named in his life insurance.

I also think she was using a lot of drugs, was estranged from her kids --the Rick bios really had nothing nice to say about her.

Since all of this she seems to have turned her life around. But back then, the impression I got was that she was just plain awful.

Thanks dahur1 and OH Nuts!. All I can say is "Eek!" I'm glad she's turned her life around.

Thanks dahur1 and OH Nuts!. All I can say is "Eek!" I'm glad she's turned her life around.
So am I.

I also think she was using a lot of drugs, was estranged from her kids --the Rick bios really had nothing nice to say about her.

Since all of this she seems to have turned her life around. But back then, the impression I got was that she was just plain awful.

Gunnar Nelson has said in one of his blogs from a few years ago, that she was born without the "mother gene." :(

Gunnar Nelson has said in one of his blogs from a few years ago, that she was born without the "mother gene." :(

I remember that blog. He had quite a few blogs that mentioned issues with his mother. Certain things I remember from teh blogs because they just struck me so much as to how bad things were. A lot of putting down of their dreams and asperations. Such as when the twins were about 12 and they wanted to be rock stars like their dad but Kris would tell them to stop living in a dream world they were never going to be rock stars and never be as good as their dad. One time Kris showed up berating a teenage Gunnar for something, with his friend and friends father there and demanding he come with her. His friends father interviened and told her Kris, Gunnar wasn't going with her, he was taking Gunnar home with him and he could stay there as long as he wanted. Gunnar ended up staying there for a few days. And Gunnar commenting, how it was the first time an adult ever stood up for him and tried to protect him. He wrote about things like that at one point, for 4 years Kris didn't have the phone numbers of any of her children.
Gunnar more than the others always has seemed very open in talking about how rough a relationship he has had with his mother. It's such a sad story. That seems to still haunt Gunnar.

The last time I read Gunnar's blog (it's still around, but you have to pay to read it), he said that his mother had sent him a Christmas card. I think their relationship improved after Celebrity Fit Club. Most of the things he wrote about her previously were sad though.

The last time I read Gunnar's blog (it's still around, but you have to pay to read it), he said that his mother had sent him a Christmas card. I think their relationship improved after Celebrity Fit Club. Most of the things he wrote about her previously were sad though.
Yes, from what I read they seem to be patching things up. I hope that Kris and all 4 of her kids are eventually able to make peace with each other.

Deleted post because I'm having a blonde moment and posted twice. :crazy:

Gunnar should write a book. He's a great writer.

But yeah...back to Kris. It has definitely seemed to have affected Gunnar the most. He's very vocal about his feelings and coping skills, which is apparently therapeutic for him. God bless him.

Gunnar should write a book. He's a great writer.

But yeah...back to Kris. It has definitely seemed to have affected Gunnar the most. He's very vocal about his feelings and coping skills, which is apparently therapeutic for him. God bless him.
That's my feeling, too. Have the other kids commented much about their relationships with Kris?

Gunnar Nelson has said in one of his blogs from a few years ago, that she was born without the "mother gene." :(

Hi Golidlocks! Was this on the Nelson (band) website?

Hi Golidlocks! Was this on the Nelson (band) website?

I just saw it out on the internet. It was from like 2001 or something. Like Gidgetgrape said, his more recent blogs are on the Nelson website, but you have to be a "backstage" member to read them.

Catlover, I have never really heard or read any comments from the other three Nelson offspring, other than vague references like ..."with what we grew up in...".

I just saw it out on the internet. It was from like 2001 or something. Like Gidgetgrape said, his more recent blogs are on the Nelson website, but you have to be a "backstage" member to read them.

Catlover, I have never really heard or read any comments from the other three Nelson offspring, other than vague references like ..."with what we grew up in...".
OK - thanks for the heads up.

The most I ever really heard Tracy say was in reference to being asked how she and her three brothers escaped the pitfuls of being Hollywood celebrity kids and getting into drugs and alcohol. She said basically that because of growing up in that enviroment and knowing and seeing first hand the effects and ramifications the four of them all made a conscience decision to not go that route.

I also heard her once say that as she got older she could understand more of her mothers frustrations of having a husband who was always gone, on the road and how it effects a marriage. When she was young and they were going through it, she blamed her mother, but years later as she talked to Kris and as she grew older, she could better see and understand Kris' side.

I'm sure being married herself and going through her own divorce helped Tracy in understanding some things as well.

Sometimes, to hear Ricks kids talk him, it sounds like they just put him on such a high pedestal of admiration that they can't see, Rick as ever being anything or anything less than perfect. Sometimes it seems like they are speaking more of an idol than of a father.

The most I ever really heard Tracy say was in reference to being asked how she and her three brothers escaped the pitfuls of being Hollywood celebrity kids and getting into drugs and alcohol. She said basically that because of growing up in that enviroment and knowing and seeing first hand the effects and ramifications the four of them all made a conscience decision to not go that route.

I also heard her once say that as she got older she could understand more of her mothers frustrations of having a husband who was always gone, on the road and how it effects a marriage. When she was young and they were going through it, she blamed her mother, but years later as she talked to Kris and as she grew older, she could better see and understand Kris' side.

I'm sure being married herself and going through her own divorce helped Tracy in understanding some things as well.

Sometimes, to hear Ricks kids talk him, it sounds like they just put him on such a high pedestal of admiration that they can't see, Rick as ever being anything or anything less than perfect. Sometimes it seems like they are speaking more of an idol than of a father. I think all four are quite aware of their fathers faults, but rather than dwell on them, they prefer to accentuate the positive - and I'm glad they do. I don't want to read/hear a bunch of gossipy "what a lousy father he was" type of stuff. The main problem was just that he wasn't around a lot, because he was out making a living. That's an unfortunate side affect of being a musician.

I think the reason Rick's kids speak so highly of him was because maybe he was a great dad. Just because somebody is a celebrity dosent mean they will be a rotten parent. All Hollywood dads arent like Ryan O'Neal.


I'm just saying.

I think the reason Rick's kids speak so highly of him was because maybe he was a great dad. Just because somebody is a celebrity dosent mean they will be a rotten parent. All Hollywood dads arent like Ryan O'Neal.


I'm just saying.

I agree. I think for the most he was. And certainly in comparison to the terror Kris.

IMO, I don't feel Kris has the right to write any book on Rick being they ended up divorced and from the nasty way she was with him I highly doubt I would believe a word of it anyway. It's funny BEFORE I knew about her nastiness toward Rick and the kids, I didn't like her on any episode that she ever appeared in on the O&H show...I could just never put my finger on it, but after I heard some of the stories, I began to understand why I felt that way.

I agree, I think that any book written by Kris about Rick would probably be self-serving and unfair in its treatment of Rick. I say this based on things she has said about Rick in the years since his death. That's not to say that she didn't know Rick very well, of course, but I think that her biases would spoil the book. I really wish that David would write an autobiography/family memoir, but I have never heard or read anything to indicate that he is even considering it.

^ I agree, it would be awesome if David would do something like that. How involved is he with the DVDs?

I agree if Kris were to write a book it wouldn't really be about Rick. It would be about Kris. It would be about Kris trying to gain sympathy, rewrite history and slant things in her direction. She knows the public perception of herself, any book she wrote regarding Rick would have it's main goal to make Kris's image better. It seems she has been estrange from her entire family for decades. Not just one person, not just one kid, not just her brother.. but the entire family. There have to be reasons for that. It just can't be everyone else.

One thing I always found about Kris in her episodes on O&H, was how immature and child like she seemed. I know she was only 18, but she was also a wife and mother. And instead of seeming like 18-21 in those years she seemed more like 16.

And at the time her kids really needed her the most, when their father was killed, she wasn't there for them.

I think it would be great if Dave were to write an autobiography or book on the family! I don't personally think he ever would. He seems very private and not one to want to air dirty laundry.

I think it would be great if Dave were to write an autobiography or book on the family! I don't personally think he ever would. He seems very private and not one to want to air dirty laundry.
I agree - he always struck me as a very private, quiet person. I can't blame him for wanting to protect the family legacy, as he's the only one of the four left.

David was very vocal in his praise of Rick in the years following his brothers' death. I'd love to read a book from Dave about his famous family, I'm sure he's got many stories to tell - you get a taste of that in the commentaries with the O&H dvd set that came out a couple years ago. Very warm memories. I wouldn't care to read Kris' book, unless she has changed her tune. I don't need to read a lot of bitterness and lies.

It would be nice if David did write a book about the family. Whom better to set the record straight then David?

^ If he did write a book, I'd read it!! :D

^
me too

Me three. I always liked David and think he's a very solid and dependable guy. His is the version I'd ride with!

Wow...I'm glad that I'm not the only one to feel this way about Kris. I really thought that I would get slammed for my earlier post, although it was alot tammer then my feelings about her.

Wow...I'm glad that I'm not the only one to feel this way about Kris. I really thought that I would get slammed for my earlier post, although it was alot tammer then my feelings about her. Kris does have her fans, but I'm not one of them.

Listen, all families have their problems. While there are many things going against her, you also have to realize that there is more than just one side to every story. There are MANY sides, many of which are never told. We have no right to sit here and publicly bash the woman not having all the facts. The truth is, behind closed doors, nobody knows what happened between Rick and Kris. Just because you don't particularly care for someone as an actress or think that Rick deserved better, doesn't mean she was necessarily a terrible person. It is sad that she lost contact with her kids, but for all we know the kids were more against her than anything else. She admitted she was unstable, and often unstable people make unstable decisions, like severing ties with family members, etc. I think speculation is all fine and well, but guilty until proven innocent doesn't work for me, personally.

Kris said enough negative things about Rick and other family members in the past for me to read any book of hers skeptically. Personally, I don't think a public forum (book, movie, television show) is the proper place to air your grievances against any family member or friend. You take that person aside and say "I have a problem with you". I know David was particularly stung by many of Kris' allegations, he's a pretty calm guy, but I could see/hear the hurt and frustration when he went on tv and the first thing the interviewers wanna bring up is Rick and drugs. One on show, he talked about Kris accusing Rick of having "strange people in the house. The only strange people I ever saw in the house were brought there by Kris, people with names like Sky and Water and Rock". Obviously Tracy felt safe being with her father, she lived with her father after the divorce, not her mother. The twins moved in with him the day they turned in 18. To me, that speaks volumes.

But to play the devil's advocate, one Nelson who remained close to and supportive of Kris--even through the divorce with Rick, Rick's death, Kris's rehab stint in 1987 and her custody fight w/ her brother Mark Harmon over Sam later that year--was Harriet. Harriet and Kris continued to speak with and see each other for the rest of Harriet's life, and Kris attended Harriet's funeral in 1994 although she wasn't exactly a popular figure in the Nelson clan by then. Supposedly (according to some books) Harriet had hoped that Rick and Kris might reconcile, and that may have been part of her (also alleged) dislike of Rick's girlfriend for the last 4 years of his life, Helen Blair (no relation to June). (And speaking of June, perhaps as a sign of how much respect she had for Harriet, she attended Harriet's funeral too, even though she had long since dropped out of the Nelson orbit so to speak.)

But to play the devil's advocate, one Nelson who remained close to and supportive of Kris--even through the divorce with Rick, Rick's death, Kris's rehab stint in 1987 and her custody fight w/ her brother Mark Harmon over Sam later that year--was Harriet. Harriet and Kris continued to speak with and see each other for the rest of Harriet's life, and Kris attended Harriet's funeral in 1994 although she wasn't exactly a popular figure in the Nelson clan by then. Supposedly (according to some books) Harriet had hoped that Rick and Kris might reconcile, and that may have been part of her (also alleged) dislike of Rick's girlfriend for the last 4 years of his life, Helen Blair (no relation to June). (And speaking of June, perhaps as a sign of how much respect she had for Harriet, she attended Harriet's funeral too, even though she had long since dropped out of the Nelson orbit so to speak.)

Well, whatever happened I know that no matter how flat you make a pancake there are two sides....I get that, but I was just explaining how I felt about Kris on screen and the bad vibes I got from her. I'm sure Rick was no saint given the crap that we hear from what happens to a majority of people after fame and fortune comes to them, but I agree with the earlier post about the kids moving in with Rick after the divorce and how that speaks volumns.

Oh I agree with you about Kris on the show...I've always thought June came across as much nicer, sweeter, and more charming on the show (although in real life she apparently had some problems w/ O&H--at one point circa 1963-64, she supposedly went something like 2 years without even going to their house...guess that neither Dave nor Rick succeeded in "marrying a girl like the girl that married dear old Dad"--although David's second marriage has apparently been a very good one).

I liked June on the show, but don't know ANYTHING about what she's done in the years since. Maybe she just prefers her privacy. I respect that. David does appear to have a happy marriage now, we should all be so lucky :)

^ :yeahthat

I don't really know anything about June. I've heard very little about her both during her marriage to Dave and afterwards.

I liked her character on the show. I always enjoyed any of the episodes with the 'boys' and their wives. I don't know how much their real personalities went into the characters but character wise, June seemed more reserved and self conscious, while Kris seemed more spontaneous, emotional and dominant.

One thing I did read or hear Dave say about the wives and the show was that it was challenging for both he and Rick having their wives on the show due to the fact that Ozzie was in charge of everything on the show. Dave was quite gentle in how he spoke of the conflict. I can see where there'd be tension. So here the wives are coming into a new family, new brides, getting a new job and your new father-in-law is your boss. It's hard enough just marrying and trying to adjust to in-laws and a new set of 'parents' let alone one of them being your boss. Dave mentioned they really had to work at trying to convey to their wives that things dealing with the show is about the show and not personal and that on the set, Ozzie's the boss.

About the twins moving in with Rick on their 18th Birthday, I read Gunnar saying that they wanted to live with Rick from the start but Kris had custody so they couldn't. But also Kris had told the twins if they weren't going to go to college they they had to move out when they turned 18. The twins asked Rick if they could move in with him when they turned 18, and Gunnar said Rick was very happy about having them move in with him because he had wanted them with him all along.

I wonder if had the twins went to college and lived with her, if she would have been able to continue to get child support for them frmo Rick?

Does anyone know, when was Sam living with Kris' parents? I've always wondered just why was it, that Sam was living with Kris' parents.

From what I've read, June had a much harder time adjusting to both the Nelson family and the TV show than Kris did. June grew up in foster homes and already found the Nelsons' closeness overwhelming, let alone having to work with them and try to make the differentiation between Ozzie the boss and Ozzie her father-in-law. David and Skip Young both admitted that there was tension between Ozzie and June on and off the set, which may have been part of why she left the show in 1964 (although she came back for the last season). Plus, whereas Kris was only 18 when she joined the show and had no prior career, June did have an acting and modeling career (including a Playboy centerfold!) and felt that the show might harm her career. Later on, according to some of the books on the Nelsons, she was bitter that the show supposedly had ruined her career. But I wonder about that...it's not like she had a really great career before the show...she started making appearances on the show ("His Brother's Girl") before she was dating David.

Sam lived with Tom and Elyse Harmon when Rick and Kris's long and bitter (thanks to Kris) divorce was going on, circa 1980-82. Rick was on tour all the time (out of financial necessity and, as David later said, "to escape the process servers" continually sent by Kris's lawyers) and Kris apparently wasn't too interested in (or perhaps not capable of) having Sam, I guess...it wasn't like the courts forced her to send Sam to her parents...I read that not only did Sam call Tom Harmon "pop" in those days but that he was very close to Kris's sister Kelly, who spent more time with him in those days than Kris did. But anyway from what I've seen of him in interviews, Sam (like all of Rick and Kris's kids, actually) seems to have turned out to be a pretty level-headed and well-adjusted adult, despite having what had to have been a trying childhood.

^ It's amazing that all 4 kids turned out as well as they did - especially in Hollywood. Is Tracy the only one of the four who has kids of her own?

I think this has been mentioned before but one of the issues June Nelson always claimed she had was that she felt she never fit in with the family.

According to several books, Ozzie was not in favor of the marriage, which one would have to think June probably sensed to some degree or another and which could not have made her feel too comfortable.

^ It's amazing that all 4 kids turned out as well as they did - especially in Hollywood. Is Tracy the only one of the four who has kids of her own?

Yes.

Rick would be very proud of his kids if he were around today. I recall that when Tracy was on Square Pegs, Rick talked about how she got the show on her own, he really respected her for the actress she was becoming. I wonder if he ever got to see a rough cut of "Down and Out in Beverly Hills"? My recollection is that the movie came out just after Rick's death. Tracy was very good in it, and of course in the Father Dowling Mysteries.

Yes.
I thought so. Thanks.