Editing Ralph Nelson

{{Short description|American film and television director (1916–1987)}}
{{For|the American football player|Ralph Nelson (American football)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Ralph Nelson
| image       = Portrait of Ralph Nelson.jpg
| caption     =Portrait of Ralph Nelson
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1916|8|12}}
| birth_place = [[Long Island City, New York]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1987|12|21|1916|8|12}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| yearsactive = 1950–1979
| spouse      = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Celeste Holm]]|1936|1939|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Beatrice Bahnsen|1945|1947|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Barbara Powers|1954|1981|end=died}}
}}
| children    = 4, including [[Ted Nelson]]
}}
[[File:Ralph Nelson 1970 b.jpg|thumb|Ralph Nelson (1970)]]
'''Ralph Nelson''' (August 12, 1916 &ndash; December 21, 1987) was an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. He was best known for directing ''[[Lilies of the Field (1963 film)|Lilies of the Field]]'' (1963), ''[[Father Goose (film)|Father Goose]]'' (1964), and ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]]'' (1968), films which won [[Academy Awards]].

==Life and career==
Nelson was born in Long Island City, New York. He served in the [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Corps]] as a [[fighter pilot]] and [[flight instructor]] during [[World War II]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081222131952/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,858418,00.html Radio: The Three Prosceniums] ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' via [[Internet Archive]]. Archived December 22, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2023.</ref>

Before the war ended, he had a play on Broadway: "The Wind Is Ninety" ran from June to September 1945.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-wind-is-ninety-1714 |title=The Wind Is Ninety – Broadway Play – Original {{!}} IBDB |website=www.ibdb.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924014559/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-wind-is-ninety-1714 |archive-date=2017-09-24}} </ref> [[Kirk Douglas]] was in the cast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/personlistpage/person-list?production=00000150-aea2-d936-a7fd-eef679850004&type=op#oc|title = Person List}}</ref>

Nelson directed the acclaimed episode "[[A World of His Own]]" of ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' (he should '''''not''''' be confused with ''The Twilight Zone's'' production manager, Ralph '''''W.''''' Nelson). He also directed both the television and film versions of [[Rod Serling]]'s ''[[Requiem for a Heavyweight]].''

He directed ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]],'' the 1968 film version of ''Flowers for Algernon,'' for which [[Cliff Robertson]] won an Academy Award, as well as several racially provocative films in the 1960s and early 1970s, including  the [[Academy Award|Academy Award-winning]] ''[[Lilies of the Field (1963 film)|Lilies of the Field]],''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5D6103BF936A15751C1A961948260|title=Ralph Nelson, Early TV Director; Made 'Requiem for Heavyweight'|date=1987-12-25|access-date=2008-01-18|work=New York Times|first=Ronald|last=Sullivan}}</ref> ''[[Tick, Tick, Tick (film)|...tick...tick...tick...]]'', ''[[Christmas Lilies of the Field]],'' ''[[The Wilby Conspiracy]],'' and ''[[Soldier Blue]].'' The starring role in "Lilies" led to [[Sidney Poitier]] winning the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]].

Nelson also directed the [[Cary Grant]] comedy ''[[Father Goose (film)|Father Goose]],'' the offbeat ''[[Soldier in the Rain]]'' with [[Jackie Gleason]] and [[Steve McQueen]], the crime story ''[[Once a Thief (1965 film)|Once a Thief]],'' and [[Rita Hayworth]]'s last film, ''[[The Wrath of God]].'' He both directed, and briefly appeared in, ''[[Duel at Diablo]],'' starring [[James Garner]] and [[Sidney Poitier]].

Nelson's other credits include several episodes of TV's ''[[Starsky & Hutch]],'' the '70s camp horror classic ''[[Embryo (1976 film)|Embryo]],'' and ''[[A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich (film)|A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich]].''

A television drama about mounting the live show of ''Requiem for a Heavyweight'' called ''[[The Man in the Funny Suit]]'' was made in 1960, with Nelson both writing and directing. Nelson, Serling, [[Red Skelton]], [[Keenan Wynn]] and [[Ed Wynn]] appeared in it as themselves.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

He returned to TV in the late 1970s with a string of TV movies, including a sequel to ''[[Lilies of the Field (1963 film)|Lilies of the Field]]'' called [[Christmas Lilies of the Field]] which starred [[Billy Dee Williams]], [[Maria Schell]], and Fay Hauser.

==Death==
He died in 1987 in [[Santa Monica, California]] at the age of 71.

==Filmography==
===Director===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
;Film
* ''[[Requiem for a Heavyweight (film)|Requiem for a Heavyweight]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Lilies of the Field (1963 film)|Lilies of the Field]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Soldier in the Rain]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Fate Is the Hunter (film)|Fate Is the Hunter]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Father Goose (film)|Father Goose]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Once a Thief (1965 film)|Once a Thief]]'' (1965)
* ''[[Duel at Diablo]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Counterpoint (1968 film)|Counterpoint]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Tick, Tick, Tick (film)|...tick...tick...tick...]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Soldier Blue]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Flight of the Doves]]'' (1971)
* ''[[The Wrath of God]]'' (1972)
* ''[[The Wilby Conspiracy]]'' (1975)
* ''[[Embryo (1976 film)|Embryo]]'' (1976)
* ''[[A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich (film)|A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich]]'' (1977)
;Television
* ''[[Ford Startime]]'' - "[[The Jazz Singer (Ford Startime)|The Jazz Singer]]" (1959)
* ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' - "[[Requiem for a Heavyweight]]" (1956)
* ''Blood Money'' (1957)
* ''[[A World of His Own]]'' (1960)
* ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'' (1963) Episode: "The Speechmaker: Part 1"
* ''The Man Who Bought Paradise'' (1965)
* ''[[Lady of the House (1978 film)|Lady of the House]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Because He's My Friend]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Christmas Lilies of the Field]]'' (1979)
* ''You Can't Go Home Again'' (1979)
{{div col end}}

===Actor===
* ''Stump Run'' (1959)
* ''[[Lilies of the Field (1963 film)|Lilies of the Field]]'' (1963) - Mr. Ashton (uncredited)
* ''[[Duel at Diablo]]'' (1966) - Col. Foster
* ''[[Counterpoint (1968 film)|Counterpoint]]'' (1968) - Belgian Officer (uncredited)
* ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]]'' (1968) - Convention Speaker (uncredited)
* ''[[Tick, Tick, Tick (film)|...tick...tick...tick...]]'' (1970) - New York driver caught in speed trap (uncredited)
* ''[[Soldier Blue]]'' (1970) - Agent Long
* ''[[The Wrath of God]]'' (1972) - Executed Prisoner (uncredited)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ralph Nelson}}
*{{IMDb name|625680}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081222131952/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,858418,00.html 1953 Time Magazine]

{{Ralph Nelson}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Ralph}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Film directors from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Film producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Male actors from Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York (state)]]
[[Category:People from Long Island City, Queens]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces officers]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II]]