Harriet Nelson

Infobox actor
name = Harriet Nelson
birthname = Peggy Lou Snyder


caption = in "Follow the Fleet" (1936)
imagesize = 136px
birthdate = birth date|1909|7|19
location = Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
deathdate = death date and age|1994|10|2|1909|7|19
deathplace = Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
othername = Harriet Hilliard

Harriet Nelson (July 18, 1909 – October 2, 1994) was an American singer and actress.

Biography

She was born Peggy Lou Snyder in Des Moines, Iowa, to Roy Hilliard Snyder and Hazel Dell McNutt. By 1932, she was performing in vaudeville when she met the saxophone-playing bandleader Ozzie Nelson. Nelson hired her to sing with the band, under the name Harriet Hilliard. They married three years later.

Hilliard had a respectable film career as a solo performer, apart from the band. RKO Radio Pictures signed her to a one-year contract in 1936, and she appeared in three feature films, the most famous being the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical "Follow the Fleet". She was very much in demand during the World War II years for leading roles in escapist musicals, comedies, and mysteries.

In Ozzie Nelson's book, he wrote that Harriet was quite popular during the short time at RKO and they wanted her to continue her solo film career, but decided that it was more important for her to continue with the band and subsequent radio show.

Although the couple occasionally appeared together in movies, either as a duo (in "Honeymoon Lodge") or as separate characters (in "Hi, Good Lookin"'), they are best known for their broadcasting efforts. In 1944, the Nelsons began a domestic-comedy series for radio, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". It was highly popular and made a successful transition to television. It was one of the stalwarts of the ABC-TV schedule through 1966. The Nelsons' two sons, Ricky Nelson and David Nelson, were featured continuously on the show.

In 1973, Ozzie and Harriet also appeared in the syndicated sitcom, "Ozzie's Girls".

Later years

In the 1980s Harriet Nelson lived in Laguna Beach, California. She died of congestive heart failure on October 2, 1994, at the age of 85.

She is interred with her husband and younger son Ricky (who died in a plane crash) in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

For her contribution to the television industry, Harriet Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography

External links

*imdb name|id=0384948|name=Harriet Nelson (née Hilliard)
*tv.com person|id=15145|name=Harriet Nelson
*Find A Grave|id=1834

Persondata
NAME= Nelson, Harriet
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Snyder, Peggy Lou; Hilliard, Harriet
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress, singer
DATE OF BIRTH= July 18, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH= Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH= October 2, 1994
PLACE OF DEATH= Laguna Beach, California, U.S.