The second son of Swedish parents, George Waldemar and Ethel Irene (Orr) Nelson, he was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and raised in the affluent suburb of Ridgefield Park, where the street of Ridgefield Park High School, where he attended and starred on the football team, is now named after him. He became an Eagle Scout at 13 and in adult life a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.[1] He graduated from Rutgers University, where he played football despite his slight build, was a member of Cap and Skull,[2] and entered law school. In college, he played saxophone in a small band and coached football to earn money, but faced with the Depression, he turned to music as a full-time career.
Ozzie started his entertainment career as a band leader. He formed and led the Ozzie Nelson Band, and had some initial limited success. He made his own 'big break' in 1930. The New York Daily Mirror ran a poll of its readers to determine their favorite band. He knew that news vendors got credit from the newspaper for unsold copies by returning the front page and discarding the rest of the issue. Gathering hundreds of discarded newspapers, the band filled out ballots in their favor. They edged out Paul Whiteman and were pronounced the winners. From 1930 through the 1940s Nelson's band recorded prolifically—first on Brunswick, then Vocalion and finally Bluebird. In 1934 Nelson enjoyed success with his hit song, "Over Somebody Else's Shoulder" which he introduced. Nelson was their primary vocalist (and from August, 1932) duets with Harriet Hilliard. Nelson's calm, easy vocal style was popular on records and radio and quite similar to son Rick's voice.
In October 1935 he married the band's vocalist Harriet Hilliard. The couple had two children. David, born in 1936, became an actor and director. Eric ("Ricky"), born in 1940, became an actor and singer.
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.
In the 1940s Ozzie began to look for a way to spend more time with his family, especially his growing sons. Besides band appearances, he and Harriet had been regulars on Red Skelton's radio show. He developed and produced his own radio series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The show went on the air in 1944, with the sons played by actors until 1949, and in 1952 it moved over to television. The show starred the entire family, and America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their boys. Nelson was producer and co-writer of the entire series. He was very hands-on and involved with every aspect of the radio and then TV program.
In 1973, Ozzie Nelson published his autobiography, "Ozzie," (Prentice Hall, 1973, ISBN 0-13-647768-2). He suffered from recurring malignant tumors in his later years, died of liver cancer at age 69, and is interred with his wife and son Ricky in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
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.
Mandy
Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Make up your mind
Preacher man is handy
Mandy, easy to find
Marching down the aisle with you
We'll make them all stare
With a little Black-Eyed Susan
Stuck in your hair
Won't you decide?
Everything is dandy
Mandy, once you are my bride
In a year or two
There may be three of a kind
Listen to me, Mandy
Make up your mind
The song "Mandy" by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra is a plea to a woman named Mandy to make up her mind about getting married to the singer. The lyrics suggest that a preacher man is handy and that all they need is a Little Black-Eyed Susan stuck in her hair to make their wedding day special. The song has a cheerful, upbeat tone, but it conveys a sense of urgency as the singer implores Mandy to decide.
The song's lyrics are interesting in that they seem to present marriage as a decision that can be made easy and quickly. The preacher man is handy, and all they need is a little flower in her hair to make their wedding day special. The singer seems to be downplaying the importance of the decision, suggesting that once Mandy is his bride, everything will be dandy.
Line by Line Meaning
Mandy, Mandy
Addressing Mandy
Make up your mind
Please decide what you want
Preacher man is handy
A minister is available for the wedding
Mandy, easy to find
Mandy is easily accessible
Marching down the aisle with you
Walking with you towards the altar
We'll make them all stare
We will attract attention
With a little Black-Eyed Susan
Using this type of flower to accessorize Mandy's hair
Stuck in your hair
Inserted as ornamentation in your hair
Mandy, Mandy
Addressing Mandy again
Won't you decide?
Asking her to make a choice
Everything is dandy
Everything will be great
Mandy, once you are my bride
If you marry me
In a year or two
After some time
There may be three of a kind
Perhaps we'll have a family of three
Listen to me, Mandy
Asking her to hear me out
Make up your mind
Asking her to make a choice again
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CLARKE, JOHNSTON, MEYER, TURK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
RICHARD LAINE
Once upon a time, before the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on '50s T.V., Mr. Oswald George "Ozzie'' Nelson ( 1906 -75 ) had a band that was capable of SWINGING! This performance is a pleasant jaunt all through, and proves that sheer decibels, rafter-shaking and dislodging of ceiling plaster are NOT NECESSARILY prerequisites for good Swing!
The feeling and the pulse is the REAL thing, and there is certainly no shortage of either here -- THANK YOU! I have been only to happy to listen to this three times in succession! Yours, Richard Laine.
David Todora
They sang this and played this in Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn or white Christmas I can’t quite remember and they were dancing so it’s a great song thanks
The78Prof
Vera-Ellen danced up a storm with Bing, Danny, and John Brascia in "White Christmas." Look closely and you'll also see a 19-year-old (unbilled) George Chakiris as one of the dancers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRmWJ1_dZKk
HotWax93
It was in White Christmas. That film was actually my introduction to the song, when I saw it on ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas back in 2008. That's the only year I remember it being in the rotation, and I suspect it was there that year because 2008 was also the year the stage adaptation of White Christmas debuted on Broadway. It was also the movie that got me really interested in live action film musicals and stage musicals, and made me fall in love with Vera-Ellen, but that's another story.
HotWax93
@The78Prof This was my second favorite number in the movie, after "Choreography."
Main Account
Super excellent
HotWax93
I suspect this song was mostly responsible for popularizing the name Mandy.
Wally Plumstead
Thank you!
The78Prof
My pleasure.