"Ozzie" by Ozzie Nelson, published by Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1973, First Edition, First Printing with '1' present in the line on copyright page; illustrated.

Hard boards, original blue tweed cloth over one quarter black buckram; gold lettering on spine; 6.1/4" x 9.1/4"; 309 pages + many photographs on glossy paper, very good condition.

Oswald George Nelson (1906-1975) was an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, musician, composer, conductor and bandleader. He originated and starred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, a radio and television series with his wife Harriet and two sons David and Ricky Nelson.

Ozzie Nelson appeared with his band in feature films and short subjects of the 1940s, and often played speaking parts, displaying a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, as in the 1942 musical Strictly in the Groove. He shrewdly promoted the band by agreeing to appear in "soundies," three-minute musical movies shown in "film jukeboxes" of the 1940s. In 1952, when he and his family were established as radio and TV favorites, they starred in a feature film, "Here Come the Nelsons", which actually doubled as a "pilot" for the TV series.

Nelson developed and produced his own radio series, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". The show originally aired in 1944, with their sons played by actors until 1949. In 1952 it moved to television, where David and Ricky appeared on camera. The radio version continued for another two years, and the last television episode aired in 1966.

The TV show starred the entire family, as America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their boys. Nelson was producer and director of most of the episodes, and he co-wrote many of them. Nelson's brother, Don Nelson, was also one of the writers. Ozzie was hands on, involved with every aspect of both radio and TV programs. It is notable that throughout the 1950's, Ozzie's prior band leading career and Harriet's singing, acting, and dancing careers were seldom mentioned. The younger audience would have had no idea that Ozzie and Harriet had previously been involved in music. His last television show, in the fall of 1973, was Ozzie's Girls, which lasted for a year in first-run syndication. The premise involved Ozzie and Harriet renting their sons' former room to two college girls—actresses Brenda Sykes and Susan Sennett—and portrayed the Nelsons' efforts at adjusting to living with two young women after raising two sons.

For his contribution to the television industry, Ozzie Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard. He has an additional star with his wife at 6260 Hollywood Boulevard for their contribution to radio.

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