Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Don Nelson, Ozzie's Younger Brother, Writer For "The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet," R.I.P.

Don Nelson, the younger brother of Ozzie Nelson and a writer for the classic 1952-66 television sitcom series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, passed away on Tuesday of an aortic aneurysm on Tuesday at his Studio City, California home at age 86.

Mr. Nelson had Parkinson's disease.

A jazz saxophonist who, for a brief time, worked in Ozzie's orchestra, Don was co-writer on his brother's family's lone feature-length film, 1952's "Here Come The Nelsons." The movie helped set the stage for the ABC Network TV series (itself a video version of a successful radio show), which launched that fall.

Don wound up outliving all four principal cast members; brother Ozzie (who passed away from liver cancer in 1975), nephew Rick, whose trademark catchphrase "I don't mess around, boy" was dreamed up by Uncle Don (plane crash, 1985), sister-in-law Harriet (1994), and older nephew David (2011).

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