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Barry Nelson. Actor: The Shining. A genial, well-respected, all-around "nice guy", the breezily handsome Barry Nelson was born Haakon Robert Nielsen on April 16, 1917, in San Francisco, California, to Betsy (Christophersen) and Trygve "Ted" Nielsen, both Norwegian immigrants.
- January 1, 1
- San Francisco, California, USA
- January 1, 1
- Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA
Born Robert Nielson, in 1925, in Oakland, CA; son of Trygve and Betsy (Christophsen) Nielson; married Teresa Celi (divorced). Addresses: AGENT--William Morris Agency, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. Nationality American Gender Male Birth Details 1925 Oakland, California, United States Famous Works. Credits
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Barry Nelson (April 16, 1917 – April 7, 2007) was an American, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.
Nelson was born Robert Haakon Nielsen in San Francisco, California, of Norwegian ancestry, the son of Betsy (nee Christophsen) and Trygve Nielsen. (His year of birth has been subject of some debate, but his 1943 Army enlistment record and his 1993 voter registration records certify 1917 as the correct year of his birth.) He began acting in school a...
Nelson was an actor of stage and screen. He began working in Hollywood in 1938 and appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows before he was cast as James Bond.
Nelson was the first actor (and the first non European before George Lazenby who was the second) to play James Bond on screen, in a 1954 adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale on the television anthology series Climax!. He preceded Sean Connery's interpretation of Bond 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 whom some characters refer to as "Jimmy". (Interestingly, an American "Jimmy Bond" would appear in the next adaptation of Casino Royale as a villain, played by Woody Allen )
"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.
After Climax! Nelson continued to act until the late 1980's. He is best known for appearing in the films The Shining (in which he appears as the man who interviews Jack Torrance for the caretaking job), Airport, and the 1941 film
Bond and Linda Christian in
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. He was a close friend of the tenor Mario Lanza.
According to his widow Nansi, Barry Nelson died on April 7, 2007, while traveling in Bucks County, Pennsylvania nine days before his 90th birthday. The cause of death was not disclosed.
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He was married to Nancy Lee (Nansi) Hoy from November 12, 1992 to April 7, 2007 and Teresa Celli from February 19, 1951 to March 10, 1965.
Risk Management Assistant. Basic Research. View Betsy Christopherson’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. Betsy has 1 job listed on their profile. See the...
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Betsy Christophsen Female, Person. 99 Views. Who is Betsy Christophsen? Betsy Christophsen was the mother of Barry Nelson. We need you! Help us build the largest ...
Oct 12, 2017 · Betsy Christopherson made the introductions and Nancy Bacon presented the DAR Women of History Certificate to Dr. Van Cleve for his ancestor’s contributions to her community. Phyllis Olson gave...
