Ozzie Nelson: (on the production of his long-running television series) We're truly a family project. The program is entirely on our shoulders.
Though an honor student, a notable athlete, a musician, and later, a TV star and producer, Ozzie Nelson originally wanted to be a professional cartoonist.
Part of Nelson's career success may have been because his manager sent a number of ballots from unsold New York Daily Mirror newspapers into a "best radio band" contest. As a result, The Ozzie Nelson Orchestra ranked ahead of the biggest national swing bands of the 1930s.
When Ozzie Nelson was thirteen years old he became the youngest boy to rise to Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
In order to add a sense of "family" authenticity to the series, Ozzie Nelson had the exterior of the home on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet constructed as a near-duplicate of his real house in Hollywood.
Shortly before his death, Ozzie Nelson caused a stir among some of his fans when he supposedly admitted that he was an atheist in his 1973 autobiography Ozzie. The book is now out of print, and the contention is disputed.
Ozzie Nelson graduated from Rutgers University and later attended law school there, often using his musical talents to fund his tuition and fees.
Harriet Hilliard was a singer in Ozzie Nelson's swing band when they married in 1935. They had two children, Ricky and David, both of whom starred on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Ricky Nelson also achieved fame as a pop singer and David established himself as a director.
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