Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 30, 2026

Ralph Nelson

Ralph Leo Nelson was an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. He was best known for directing Lilies of the Field (1963), Father Goose (1964), and Charly (1968), films which won Academy Awards.

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Ralph Nelson
Portrait of Ralph Nelson
Born
Ralph Leo Nelson

(1916-08-12)August 12, 1916
Long Island City, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 21, 1987(1987-12-21) (aged 71)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Years active1950–1979
Spouses
​
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(m. 1936; div. 1939)​
Beatrice Bahnsen
​
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(m. 1945; div. 1947)​
Barbara Powers
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​
(m. 1954; died 1981)​
Children4, including Ted Nelson
Ralph Nelson (1970) source ↗

Ralph Leo Nelson12 (August 12, 1916 – December 21, 1987) was an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. He was best known for directing Lilies of the Field (1963), Father Goose (1964), and Charly (1968), films which won Academy Awards.

Early years

Born on August 12, 1916,3 in Long Island City, New York, Nelson was the younger of two children born to Swedish immigrants Edith Maria and Karl Leo Nelson.4256

When he was 15 years old, Nelson's activities ranged from winning an oratory contest sponsored by The New York Times to hearing a judge describe him as "potentially the most dangerous juvenile criminal" in New York City.7 Before he was 16 years old he had been in jail for vagrancy and suspicion of burglary in 12 states.7

A freight train ride with hobos took Nelson to Los Angeles. He supported himself temporarily by selling programs for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, but a charge of attempted robbery put him in jail. Told that he had to either leave the city or serve 90 days, he chose neither option but went to the Union Rescue Mission. There he received food and housing and gained employment washing dishes at the Lido Hotel. He returned to New York, where he finished high school, ran errands for Broadway producers and actors, and studied acting.7

Nelson served in the U.S. Army Air Corps8 as a fighter pilot9 and flight instructor during World War II.8

Career

After returning to Los Angeles, Nelson was an understudy for Leslie Howard as Hamlet at the Biltmore Theatre, and he later performed in that venue with a company headed by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.7 He toured with them for six years, working as actor and stage manager.10

Before the war ended, he had a play on Broadway: "The Wind Is Ninety" ran from June to September 1945.11 Kirk Douglas was in the cast.12

Nelson directed the acclaimed episode "A World of His Own" of The Twilight Zone (he should not be confused with The Twilight Zone's production manager, Ralph W. Nelson). He also directed both the television and film versions of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight.

In 1958 Nelson directed The Nutcracker, on CBS, that network's only live color broadcast of the year. Time magazine said that he "kept the episodes sharp, the camera steady. Result: an overall sense of gaiety and space."13

He directed Charly, the 1968 film version of Flowers for Algernon, for which Cliff Robertson won an Academy Award, as well as several racially provocative films in the 1960s and early 1970s, including the Academy Award-winning Lilies of the Field,14 ...tick...tick...tick..., Christmas Lilies of the Field, The Wilby Conspiracy, and Soldier Blue. The starring role in "Lilies" led to Sidney Poitier winning the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Nelson also directed the Cary Grant comedy Father Goose, the offbeat Soldier in the Rain with Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen, the crime story Once a Thief, and Rita Hayworth's last film, The Wrath of God. He both directed, and briefly appeared in, Duel at Diablo, starring James Garner and Sidney Poitier.

Nelson's other credits include several episodes of TV's Starsky & Hutch, the '70s camp horror classic Embryo, and A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich.

A television drama about mounting the live show of Requiem for a Heavyweight called The Man in the Funny Suit was made in 1960, with Nelson both writing and directing. Nelson, Serling, Red Skelton, Keenan Wynn and Ed Wynn appeared in it as themselves.

He returned to TV in the late 1970s with a string of TV movies, including a sequel to Lilies of the Field called Christmas Lilies of the Field which starred Billy Dee Williams, Maria Schell, and Fay Hauser.

Death

Nelson's first wife was actress Celeste Holm.7 He died of complications of cancer in his lung and brain on December 21, 1987, at Care West hospice in Santa Monica, California, aged 71.15

Recognition

In 1957 Nelson received an Emmy Award for Best Director for his work on Requiem for a Heavyweight.16

Filmography

Director

Film
Television

Actor

References

References

  1. Rubin, Steven Jay (2018). The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press. p. 462. ISBN 978-1-61373-888-7. "NELSON, RALPH LEO (August 12, 1916–December 21, 1987): Television and film director who helmed 'A World of His Own,' his only episode of The Twilight Zone. Nelson won an Emmy for directing Serling's award-winning script for the Playhouse 90 episode 'Requiem for a Heavyweight' (1956), which co-starred Ed and Keenan Wynn. In 1961, he was nominated for directing 'The Man in the Funny Suit.' Two years later, he was nominated for the Academy Award for directing Sidney Poitier (whom Nelson guided to an Oscar for Best Actor) in Lilies of the Field."
  2. "New York, Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1925", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J666-HX7 : Thu May 14 05:32:03 UTC 2026), Entry for Ralph Leo Nelson, 8 November 1920.
  3. Shipman, David (January 6, 1988). "Ralph Nelson". The Independent. England, London. p. 25. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "United States, Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4P8-78R : Wed Jul 10 04:41:33 UTC 2024), Entry for Carl L Nelson and Edith M Nelson, 1930.
  5. "Miss Celeste Holm Is The Bride Of Ralph Nelson; Popular Deer Lake Players Wed Today At Summer Hill". Pottsville Republican. January 6, 1988. p. 16. Retrieved June 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Nelson is also a professional actor and has appeared in leading productions, a with son of widely Mr. and known Mrs. Karl Nelson, of New York City, N. Y., and also of Swedish descent. He is a graduate of Bryant School, New York City.
  6. "New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP8J-W25L : Fri Apr 11 23:16:25 UTC 2025), Entry for Carl Leo Nelson, 1914.
  7. "Ralph Nelson, director of TV, movie classics". The Advocate. Connecticut, Stamford. Los Angeles Times. December 23, 1987. p. A 6. Retrieved June 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Movie-TV director Ralph Nelson dies at 71". The Vancouver Sun. Associated Press. December 23, 1987. p. B 7. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Radio: The Three Prosceniums Time via Internet Archive. Archived December 22, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  10. Gardella, Kay (October 26, 1954). "What's on?". Daily News. New York, New York City. p. 55. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "The Wind Is Ninety – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-24.
  12. "Person List".
  13. "Television: The Busy Air". Time. January 4, 1959. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  14. Sullivan, Ronald (1987-12-25). "Ralph Nelson, Early TV Director; Made 'Requiem for Heavyweight'". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  15. "Hollywood director Ralph Nelson dies". The Daily Dispatch. Illinois, Moline. United Press International. December 24, 1987. p. B 6. Retrieved June 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Television: Emmys for '56". Time. March 24, 1957. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
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