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Ralph Nelson | |
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 Portrait of Ralph Nelson | |
| Born | (1916-08-12)August 12, 1916 |
| Died | December 21, 1987(1987-12-21) (aged 71) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1950–1979 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4, includingTed Nelson |
Ralph Nelson (August 12, 1916 – December 21, 1987) was an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. He was best known for directingLilies of the Field (1963),Father Goose (1964), andCharly (1968), films which wonAcademy Awards.
Nelson was born in Long Island City, New York. He served in theU.S. Army Air Corps as afighter pilot andflight instructor duringWorld War II.[1]
Before the war ended, he had a play on Broadway: "The Wind Is Ninety" ran from June to September 1945.[2]Kirk Douglas was in the cast.[3]
Nelson directed the acclaimed episode "A World of His Own" ofThe Twilight Zone (he shouldnot be confused withThe Twilight Zone's production manager, RalphW. Nelson). He also directed both the television and film versions ofRod Serling'sRequiem for a Heavyweight.
He directedCharly, the 1968 film version ofFlowers for Algernon, for whichCliff Robertson won an Academy Award, as well as several racially provocative films in the 1960s and early 1970s, including theAcademy Award-winningLilies of the Field,[4]...tick...tick...tick...,Christmas Lilies of the Field,The Wilby Conspiracy, andSoldier Blue. The starring role in "Lilies" led toSidney Poitier winning theAcademy Award for Best Actor.
Nelson also directed theCary Grant comedyFather Goose, the offbeatSoldier in the Rain withJackie Gleason andSteve McQueen, the crime storyOnce a Thief, andRita Hayworth's last film,The Wrath of God. He both directed, and briefly appeared in,Duel at Diablo, starringJames Garner andSidney Poitier.
Nelson's other credits include several episodes of TV'sStarsky & Hutch, the '70s camp horror classicEmbryo, andA Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich.
A television drama about mounting the live show ofRequiem for a Heavyweight calledThe Man in the Funny Suit was made in 1960, with Nelson both writing and directing. Nelson, Serling,Red Skelton,Keenan Wynn andEd Wynn appeared in it as themselves.[citation needed]
He returned to TV in the late 1970s with a string of TV movies, including a sequel toLilies of the Field calledChristmas Lilies of the Field which starredBilly Dee Williams,Maria Schell, and Fay Hauser.
He died in 1987 inSanta Monica, California at the age of 71.
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