 Barry
Nelson (April 16, 1917 - April 7, 2007) was an American actor noted as the first
actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.
Biography
Early Life
Nelson was born Robert Haakon Nielsen in San Francisco, California. He began
acting in school at the age of fifteen, playing an 80-year-old man. He graduated
from the University of California, Berkeley in 1941 and, because of his
theatrical efforts in school, was almost immediately signed to a motion picture
contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.
Career
Nelson made his screen debut in the role as Paul Clark in Shadow of the Thin Man
(1941) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Donna Reed. He followed that
with his role as Lew Rankin in the film noir crime/drama Johnny Eager (1942)
starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner.
During his military service in World War II, Nelson debuted on the Broadway
stage in one of the leading roles, Bobby Grills, in Moss Hart's play Winged
Victory (1943). His next Broadway appearance was as Peter Sloan in Hart's Light
Up the Sky (1948), which was a first-rate success. He also appeared opposite
Lauren Bacall in the Abe Burrows comedy Cactus Flower in 1965. Another Broadway
role, that of Gus Hammer in The Rat Race (1949), kept Nelson away from the
movies again, but after it closed he starred in the dual roles as Chick Graham
and Bert Rand in The Man with My Face (1951), which was produced by Ed Gardner
of radio fame.
He was the first actor (and, to date, the only American) to play James Bond on
screen, in a 1954 adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale on the TV
anthology series Climax! (preceding Sean Connery's interpretation in Dr. No by
eight years) Reportedly this was considered a pilot for a possible James Bond
television series, though it's not known if Nelson intended to continue playing
the character. Nelson played James Bond as an American named "Jimmy Bond".
"At that time, no one had ever heard of James Bond…. I was scratching my head
wondering how to play it. I hadn't read the book or anything like that because
it wasn't well known." - Nelson in a 2004 interview with Cinema Retro.
The program also featured Peter Lorre as the primary villain; Nelson later noted
Lorre was the reason he took the role. Originally broadcast live, the production
was believed lost to time until a kinescope emerged in the 1980s. It was
subsequently released to home video, and is currently available on DVD as a
bonus feature with the 1967 film adaptation of the novel.
Nelson's additional television credits include guest appearances on Alfred
Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey, The Twilight Zone and Dr. Kildare. He appeared
regularly on TV in the 1960s. He was one of the What's My Line? mystery guests
and later served as a guest panelist on that popular CBS quiz show. Nelson
appeared in both the stage and screen versions of Mary, Mary. In 1978, he was
nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Dan
Connors in The Act (1977) with Liza Minnelli. His final appearance on Broadway
was as Julian Marsh in 42nd Street (1986).
"He was a very naturalistic, believable actor," said his agent, Francis Delduca.
"He was good at both comedy and the serious stuff."
Among his other film credits were Airport and The Shining (as the hotel manager
who interviews Jack Nicholson for a job opening), and he also appeared on such
TV shows as Murder, She Wrote, Dallas and Magnum, P.I. More recently, Nelson and
his second wife spent a lot of time traveling. He planned to write a couple of
books about his time on stage and in Hollywood.
Personal Life
Nelson had two wives, actress Teresa Celli, married in 1951 and later divorced,
and Nansilee (Nansi) Hoy, to whom he was married until his death. Nelson and his
second wife divided their time between homes in New York and France. Until his
death, Nelson could be seen publicly at American Civil War shows across America.
According to his wife Nansi, Barry Nelson died on April 7, 2007 while traveling
in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The cause of death was not immediately known.
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