- Born
- Died
- Birth nameEric Hilliard Nelson
- Height5′ 11½″ (1.82 m)
- Ricky Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA as Eric Hilliard Nelson. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (1952) and Rio Bravo (1959). He was married to Kristin Harmon. He died on December 31, 1985 in De Kalb, Texas, USA.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Capo Kaitlin
- SpouseKristin Harmon(April 20, 1963 - December 27, 1982) (divorced, 4 children)
- Children
- Parents
- RelativesDavid Nelson(Sibling)Remington Moses(Grandchild)Willy Nelson(Cousin)Rich Nelson(Cousin)
- He slowly bats his eyes in a longing, 'come hither' fashion while singing
- Ricky's children Tracy Nelson, Matthew Nelson, and Gunnar Nelson always maintained that their father's 1985 plane crash death was the result of a malfunctioning heater and not of alleged drug use on board the plane.
- The last song Nelson performed, on the evening preceding the fatal plane crash, was Buddy Holly's "Rave On"--the last song Holly had performed before his own fatal plane crash.
- When Rick Nelson appeared at The Rock Revival at Madison Square Garden in 1971, he was unaware that he was to appear in clothing from the era of the height of his popularity. Not aware of this, he appeared in contemporary clothing and was booed for it. As a result of this, he wrote the hit song "Garden Party".
- Ever since his death in a private plane crash on New Year's Eve, 1985, it had been speculated that the fire that caused the crash was the result of drug use - supposedly freebasing cocaine - either by Nelson himself or by one of his crew. This theory has since been discredited by, among other sources, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board in their official report on the crash. Their evidence shows that the cause originally given for the crash (an on-board heater short-circuiting and catching fire) is the correct one.
- He at first had no ambition to be a rock singer. When a girlfriend told him that she was in love with Elvis Presley, Rick told her that he was a rock singer, too. He hurriedly cut a cover of Fats Domino's song "I'm Walkin'", which became a big hit and started his musical career.
- A career is a series of comebacks.
- [about grownups hated rock and roll] Anyone who knocks rock 'n' roll either doesn't understand it, or is prejudiced against it, or is just plain square.
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