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.
144 acting credits
Acting · 144
Perry Mason
1957
Murder, She Wrote
1984
MacGyver
1985
Dallas
1978
The Fugitive
1963
Ironside
1967
Maverick
1957
Charlie's Angels
1976
The Rifleman
1958
Adam-12
1968
Quincy, M.E.
1976
Mission: Impossible
1966
The Rockford Files
1974
The Virginian
1962
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962
Hotel
1982
Dr. Kildare
1961
The Twilight Zone
1959
Cannon
1971
The F.B.I.
1965
Cagney & Lacey
1982
Rawhide
1959
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1955
The Outer Limits
1963
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
Night Gallery
1970
Medical Center
1969
Trapper John, M.D.
1979
CHiPs
1977
Police Woman
1974
Jake and the Fatman
1987
Barnaby Jones
1973
Thriller
1960
Bat Masterson
1958
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
Lou Grant
1977
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Matt Houston
1982
Gunsmoke
1955
Vega$
1978
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Surfside 6
1960
The Rebel
1959
Capitol
1982
The Bionic Woman
1976
Checkmate
1960
The Mod Squad
1968
Midway
1976
M Squad
1957
Highway Patrol
1955
The Detectives
1959
Black Saddle
1959
Laramie
1959
Arrest and Trial
1963
Cain's Hundred
1961
The Tall Man
1960
Tombstone Territory
1957
Riverboat
1959
Search
1972
Sam Benedict
1962
87th Precinct
1961
Stoney Burke
1962
Johnny Ringo
1959
Finder of Lost Loves
1984
Tightrope
1959
Who Am I?
1998
The New Breed
1961
The Gallant Men
1962
The Dakotas
1963
The Sixth Sense
1972
Logan's Run
1977
Saints and Sinners
1962
J.J. Starbuck
1987
The Aquanauts
1960
Coronado 9
1960
Channing
1963
Judgment at Nuremberg
1961
Harbor Command
1957
Runaway Jury
2003
Redigo
1963
The Silent Force
1970
Gibbsville
1976
Police Academy 3: Back in Training
1986
Airport 1975
1974
Hagen
1980
Kung Fu
1972
Soldier in the Rain
1963
Peyton Place
1964
The Steel Trap
1952
For the Love of Benji
1977
Night of the Blood Beast
1958
Superdome
1978
Attack of the Crab Monsters
1957
I, Mobster
1959
The Crash of Flight 401
1978
The Brain Eaters
1958
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb
1980
Riding with Death
1976
Swamp Women
1956
Teenage Doll
1957
Deadly Weapon
1989
The Man from Galveston
1963
A Bucket of Blood
1959
Teenage Cave Man
1958
A Little Game
1977
The Boneyard
1991
Linda
1973
Invasion of the Saucer Men
1957
Doctors' Private Lives
1979
The Screaming Woman
1972
Devil's Partner
1961
Leave Yesterday Behind
1978
Houston, We've Got a Problem
1974
Valley of the Redwoods
1960
The Return of Frank Cannon
1980
Help Wanted: Male
1982
Runaway!
1973
Born to Be Sold
1981
Rock All Night
1957
Hot Car Girl
1958
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything
1980
She Gods of Shark Reef
1958
Sworn to Silence
1987
Murder in Peyton Place
1977
Cry Baby Killer
1958
The Young Captives
1959
Bayou
1957
Cries of Silence
1996
Along Came a Spider
1970
Carnival Rock
1957
The Fatal Impulse
1960
New Orleans Uncensored
1955
Acapulco Gold
1976
The Missing Are Deadly
1975
That's the Way of the World
1975
Anatomy of a Seduction
1979
T-Bird Gang
1959
Police Headquarters
1974
Brink of Disaster!
1972
Code of Silence
1960
Doctors' Private Lives
1978
Peyton Place: The Next Generation
1985
Time to Run
1973