How Many Ozzie Nelsons did You Know?

[Zoneboy]

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When I reflect on my rewarding diverse relationships in college, I am amazed by the variety in life styles and outlook. That's the college experience.


But my most noteworthy college experience was my exclusive exchange of letters with former television star-director, Ozzie Nelson in 1971. I chose to write about Nelson, his wife Harriet and their two sons, David and Rick (see photo, right), in their on-camera roles on "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," a family situation comedy that appeared on the ABC TV Network for a record-setting 14 seasons (1952-66).

Tom Harmon, U-M's all-Mr. Everything former football player, was the father-in-law of Rick Nelson in 1971 who had married Harmon's daughter, Kris. Harmon's forward pass of my series of questions for Ozzie Nelson was completed and scored without interference.

Ozzie Nelson made these insightful observations about the show:
~ The show remained popular for 14 seasons because most family viewers "could identify with us rather easily";
~ Nelson pointed to the challenge of producing a weekly show, "There was a conscietious effort to keep our standards of performance and production at high a level as possible, considering...the limited time and budget of a weekly television show.";
~ The Nelsons wanted to produce the best product since their name was on it, "Since we owned the show as a family project, each one of us had a deep-seated interest and was proud of the show;"
~ The chief disadvantage of a family show he said was that "it was difficult for any four people, with strong individual opinions and identities, to have a normal family relationship when they are spending so much time together under the pressures and tensions of filming a weekly television show;" and
~ Ozzie justified using a canned laugh track in the show. (Apparently, some television critics panned him.) for using it.) "The hard fact is take the most hilarious movie ever filmed 'Mr. Heulot's Holiday' and run it on television it is deadly...the laugh track is here to stay. The best you can do is what we did - employ it sparingly and judiciously."

The biggest surprise Ozzie Nelson reported is only one camera was used to film the program. They would shoot a master shot and then a few close-ups to punctuate certain lines or reactions.

Many of the actual friends of David and Rick appeared as themselves in the series (and most of them used their real first names.)

In my exclusive, Ozzie Nelson shared his four favorite episodes of the show: "Ozzie A-Go-Go," a title indicative of the dance era . The others were: "The Kappa Sig Party," "The Blue Moose" and an early show, "The Man Across the Street."

My favorite character actor on the Nelson show was Skip Young, a recruit from the Knott's Berry Farm theater. Young, who passed away on St. Patrick's Day, 1993, played the plump, happy-go-lucky pal of the Nelson brothers, Wally Plumsted.

I still chuckle about his insatiable appetite for desserts. "Wally, would you like a piece of chocolate cake?", Mrs. Nelson asked in one of the episodes. "Oh, no, thank you, Mrs. Nelson," he exclaimed, "I'm on a diet." He continued, "But I wouldn't mind some of those potato chips over there!"

In 2010, David Nelson is the surviving member of the Nelson family. Ozzie passed away in 1975; Rick perished in a New Year's Eve plane cash in 1985; and in 1994, Harriet, the matriarch, passed away.

The Nelson archive is at the University of Wyoming. "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" re-runs in syndication surface periodically on major cable TV channels.

One footnote: Ozzie Nelson unknowingly may have invented the music video with some travel film footage in the background with Rick Nelson singing I am a "Traveling Man" in one of the series' episodes.

Writer Dale Leslie has watched hundreds of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett" episodes and favors the later years when Dave worked in a law firm and Rick was a member of a college fraternity with Wally Plumsted.

[ILUVO&H]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

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When I reflect on my rewarding diverse relationships in college, I am amazed by the variety in life styles and outlook. That's the college experience.


But my most noteworthy college experience was my exclusive exchange of letters with former television star-director, Ozzie Nelson in 1971. I chose to write about Nelson, his wife Harriet and their two sons, David and Rick (see photo, right), in their on-camera roles on "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," a family situation comedy that appeared on the ABC TV Network for a record-setting 14 seasons (1952-66).

Tom Harmon, U-M's all-Mr. Everything former football player, was the father-in-law of Rick Nelson in 1971 who had married Harmon's daughter, Kris. Harmon's forward pass of my series of questions for Ozzie Nelson was completed and scored without interference.

Ozzie Nelson made these insightful observations about the show:
~ The show remained popular for 14 seasons because most family viewers "could identify with us rather easily";
~ Nelson pointed to the challenge of producing a weekly show, "There was a conscietious effort to keep our standards of performance and production at high a level as possible, considering...the limited time and budget of a weekly television show.";
~ The Nelsons wanted to produce the best product since their name was on it, "Since we owned the show as a family project, each one of us had a deep-seated interest and was proud of the show;"
~ The chief disadvantage of a family show he said was that "it was difficult for any four people, with strong individual opinions and identities, to have a normal family relationship when they are spending so much time together under the pressures and tensions of filming a weekly television show;" and
~ Ozzie justified using a canned laugh track in the show. (Apparently, some television critics panned him.) for using it.) "The hard fact is take the most hilarious movie ever filmed 'Mr. Heulot's Holiday' and run it on television it is deadly...the laugh track is here to stay. The best you can do is what we did - employ it sparingly and judiciously."

The biggest surprise Ozzie Nelson reported is only one camera was used to film the program. They would shoot a master shot and then a few close-ups to punctuate certain lines or reactions.

Many of the actual friends of David and Rick appeared as themselves in the series (and most of them used their real first names.)

In my exclusive, Ozzie Nelson shared his four favorite episodes of the show: "Ozzie A-Go-Go," a title indicative of the dance era . The others were: "The Kappa Sig Party," "The Blue Moose" and an early show, "The Man Across the Street."

My favorite character actor on the Nelson show was Skip Young, a recruit from the Knott's Berry Farm theater. Young, who passed away on St. Patrick's Day, 1993, played the plump, happy-go-lucky pal of the Nelson brothers, Wally Plumsted.

I still chuckle about his insatiable appetite for desserts. "Wally, would you like a piece of chocolate cake?", Mrs. Nelson asked in one of the episodes. "Oh, no, thank you, Mrs. Nelson," he exclaimed, "I'm on a diet." He continued, "But I wouldn't mind some of those potato chips over there!"

In 2010, David Nelson is the surviving member of the Nelson family. Ozzie passed away in 1975; Rick perished in a New Year's Eve plane cash in 1985; and in 1994, Harriet, the matriarch, passed away.

The Nelson archive is at the University of Wyoming. "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" re-runs in syndication surface periodically on major cable TV channels.

One footnote: Ozzie Nelson unknowingly may have invented the music video with some travel film footage in the background with Rick Nelson singing I am a "Traveling Man" in one of the series' episodes.

Writer Dale Leslie has watched hundreds of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett" episodes and favors the later years when Dave worked in a law firm and Rick was a member of a college fraternity with Wally Plumsted.

What a nice article. On Disney, they had a "Best of Ozzie and Harriet" presentation and for those Dave gave an introduction to and little background about the episode. Blue Moose was included in that and one of the things Dave remarked about that episode was that it was one of Ozzie's favorites and whenever someone asked for clips from O&H Ozzie usually gave them a clip from that show. He also said, much of the fraturnity hi jinx was based on Ozzie's college experiences

For the Flowers for Harriet episode, Dave said that Ozzie never failed to send Harriet a dozen long stem roses for every occasion, birthday, valentine's day, anniversary mothers day etc..

On the favorite episodes Ozzie listed, I think most here are familiar with them all except perhaps The Man Across the Street.
I agree with Ozzie about The Man Across the Street. That's a great episode and one of my favorite as well.
Ricky is about 15 at the time and studying with a new boy that moved in across the street, Mickey Darby. (Yes Darb had just moved in, this was his first episode.) They are working on English papers. Ozzie and Thorny were outdoors playing football and a mess. They met Darby, who was very well dressed, dignified and actually a bit stuffy. Ozzie and Thorny met him after they had broke his window playing football. Ozzie went upstairs and looked in the boys room, no one was there, but there was the english paper still in the typewriter. Ozzie reads it, we hear Rickys voice in a Voice over reading the paper, it starts off with saying things like "My dad likes ice cream almost as much as me. ' then comes a line that just crushes Oz.. " I wish my dad could be more like the man across the street. A guy sure would be lucky to have a dad like him." Oz takes a good look at himself in the mirror, all dirty looking a mess, all dishelved. He's been acting like a kid, Suzie (girl who dates Dave at the time) called him the 'Peter Pan' of the neighborhood. No wonder Ricky is embarrassed of him. He vows then to change his ways, so Ricky will be proud of him. He will be more like Darby, the man Across the Street.
Well, I bet you can all guess, that in the end, after Ozzie has spent a good deal of time being all sophisticated and dignified he confronts Ricky about his paper and you guessed it, it wasn't Ricky's paper it was Mickey's paper. It is Micky who wishes his father were more like the man across the street... Ozzie!! Last scene, Ozzie and Thorny are out again to play football, and over walks Darb dressed in some old fashion football gear lookin silly lol asking if he can get in on the game. Darby throws the ball and breaks a window this time.

A great episode, to bad this one has come out on one of the dvd sets.
I think this and The Kappa Sig Party had the most sentimental scenes in the entire series.