Ozzie Nelson Biography

Fast Facts

• Awarded two stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for radio and one for TV
• In 1957, earned a bachelor's degree and a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N․J․, and in 1930, earned a law degree from Rutgers Newark School of Law in Newark, N․J
• Raised in Ridgefield Park, N․J․, where he was involved in the Scouts, earning the Eagle Scout rank at the age of 13, and later played football in high school, as well as while attending Rutgers University, where he was a Cap and Skull frat member
• While he was a student, he earned pocket money for himself playing saxophone in a band, as well as coaching football, and later made the decision to turn to music full-time during the Depression
• Worked on a magazine advertisement for Picture Craft paint-by-numbers kit in 1955
• Appeared in Kodak film TV commercials in the 1950s
• Ozzie and Harriet were frequent guests on Red Skelton's radio show, before they started their own in 1944
• Featured with his wife on a USA commemorative postage stamp issued on August 11, 2009