- Born
- Died
- Birth nameHarry Edward Nilsson III
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Harry Nilsson was born on June 15, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and Contact (1997). He was married to Una Mary O'Keeffe, Diane Clatworthy and Sandra Lee McTaggart. He died on January 15, 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, USA.
- SpousesUna Mary O'Keeffe(August 12, 1976 - January 15, 1994) (his death, 6 children)Diane Clatworthy(December 31, 1969 - June 23, 1976) (divorced, 1 child)Sandra Lee McTaggart(October 24, 1964 - May 26, 1969) (divorced)
- Three-and-a-half-octave vocal range; usually provided all his own harmonies on record.
- During the recording of his "Pussy Cats" album (produced, co-written and co-performed by John Lennon), he kept secret from everyone that his smoking and drinking were threatening his health. It was clear that his once-celebrated voice was not what it once was, but Nilsson, afraid that Lennon would cancel the recording sessions, kept a bucket hidden so he could spit out the blood produced after his coughing fits ruptured a vocal cord.
- Was given John Lennon's lambskin-and-wool coat when they first met in England; Nilsson passed it along to his sister (it didn't fit him), who stored it in a vault.
- Became active in the anti-handgun movement after friend John Lennon's murder; appeared at several public events for this cause.
- He had six children with his third wife, Una: Annie, Beau, Ben, Kief, Olivia, and Oscar. He also had a son, Zachary Nine, from his marriage to Diane.
- His grandparents were Swedish circus performers, whose act was known as the "Aerial Ballet" (which became the title for his second album).
- [how The Point (1971) was conceived] I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, "Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn't, then there's a point to it".
- I get nervous when they start shooting piano players.
- I do believe that most men live lives of quiet desperation. For despair, optimism is the only practical solution. Hope is practical. Because eliminate that and it's pretty scary. Hope at least gives you the option of living.
- [describing his London apartment, where he lived in the early 1970s] It was just a typical London flat, but it was in a great neighborhood. It was across from the Playboy Club, diagonally. From one balcony you could read the time from Big Ben, and from the other balcony you could watch the bunnies go up and down.
- [about his and John Lennon's being ejected from the Troubadour Club in Hollywood) That incident ruined my reputation for ten years. Get one Beatle drunk and look what happens!
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