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Ricky Nelson

January 12, 2011 by · Comments Off on Ricky Nelson 

Ricky Nelson, Ricky Nelson, who played alongside his parents Ozzie and Harriet and her brother teen idol Ricky Nelson on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, died Tuesday at age 74 after a battle with colon cancer. One of the most precious of sitcoms on TV, Ozzie and Harriet lasted 14 years and over 400 episodes aired. Scenarios were loosely based on real life Nelsons, and the show became famous for its idyllic portrait of the nuclear family.

In a 1971 Esquire article titled “The Happy, Happy, Happy Nelson,” David acknowledged the pressures of maintaining the family facade of fantasy in America:

“We want to keep the front of it totally without problems, the group Happy-go-lucky,” he said. “It could have been a tremendous battle in our house, but if someone from outside came in, it would be like if the director yelled, em ‘Roll,” “We fall right in our roles scene.

“This is an extremely large load to carry, the family of each costume.”

Full episodes of the series, which may have launched the “actors playing themselves” trend are available on YouTube and are time capsules fantastic traditional television (commercials that aired during the show are downloaded as well). Here part of “The Boys Paper Route”

Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/01/david-nelson-last-surviving-member-of-ozzie-and-harriets-fantasy-family-dies/69380/

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