Scott O'Brien, Classic Film Biographer

Reviews and Profiles 

San Francisco Bay Times gave thumbs up thanks to reporter Jan Wahl who wrote (October 5. 2023):

 I have a few tales of my own to tell in the new book Gene Nelson: Lights! Camera! Dance! By Scott O'Brien. 

Gene was a supreme dancer (Oklahoma!, Tea for Two, Lullaby of Broadway) and respected director (Elvis’ Kissin' Cousins, Harem Scarum, and the Hank Williams biopic Your Cheatin' Heart). Nelson helmed hundreds of episodic TV shows.
 
In my 20s, Gene and I had a glorious affair, culminating in a date at the Oscars. But it is not our suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel that is interesting in the book (though it was ... love those older dancers!) but Gene's varied career and his sheer talent. His screen dancing was on par with that of Gene Kelly, yet he just didn't catch the breaks. It's a cruel business, though Gene kept reinventing himself until the end here in the Bay Area and Southern California.

 It's a fun read, by BearManor Media, and available on Amazon in paperback. Scott does it again with this terrific look at an undervalued talent. 


Charles Tranberg (Author - The Thin Man - Murder Over Cocktails)  
Reviewed December 9, 2023

Scott O'Brien does it again -- another terrific book! 

Scott O'Brien is one of my favorite film biographers and historian he treats each of his subjects with dignity and respect and his handling of Gene Nelson is no exception.  

I first came to know Gene Nelson thru my love of the early Doris Day Warner Brothers musicals. Gene and Doris made four pictures together--two of which I consider classics of the American musical--TEA FOR TWO & LULLABY OF BROADWAY. I loved Day, of course, who doesn't? but Nelson's dancing knocked me out. Just fantastic. He later was one of the stars of the classic musical OKLAHOMA!  I liked a lot of his films--truth be told I had no idea the number of dramatic film roles Gene did (CRIME WAVE, THE ATOMIC MAN, etc) until I read this book. 

I knew little of Nelson's complicated love life (for instance, I had no idea he had a passionate affair with Jane Powell that caused career problems) or his exploits during WWII. Gene eventually became a proficient TV and film director during the 60's and into the 70's (which include directing Elvis in two movies) but I didn't know the details behind some of those TV projects (such as his feud with Larry Hagman during I DREAM OF JEANNIE). 

This is a terrific read and another well researched book by Scott O'Brien. I highly recommend it. 


Stephen Michael Shearer (Author - Gloria Swanson - The Ultimate Star) 
Reviewed  January 27, 2024

Gene Nelson at Last!

I will read anything by author Scott O’Brien, author of marvelous biographies of Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall, Elissa Landi, Ann Harding, Ruth Chatterton, etc. His writing is thorough and impeccable to read. In GENE NELSON: LIGHTS – CAMERA – DANCE! again, O’Brien gives us fascinating biography of the remarkably talented actor/dancer/director Gene Nelson.

Prior to World War II, Nelson was an ice skater, appearing in a couple of Sonja Henie pictures. After service in U.S. Signal Corp, as an actor/dancer, Nelson came into prominence on Broadway in the 1948 hit LEND AN EAR with Carol Channing, choreographed by Gower Champion. It won Nelson a Theatre World Award. From there it was Hollywood where he starred in such memorable musical films as TEA FOR TWO, for which he won a Golden Globe, and LULLABY OF BROADWAY (both 1951, with Doris Day), and also in other musical pictures opposite lovely Virginia Mayo. In 1955 Nelson co-starred in his possibly most remembered film OKLAHOMA, nearly stealing the picture away from its stars Gordon MacRea and Shirley Jones. In the late 1950s as an actor Nelson impressed audiences and critics alike with his dramatic turns on television.

However, as a director Gene Nelson excelled. As author O’Brien carefully details in GENE NELSON: LIGHTS – CAMERA – DANCE! the prolific and multi-talented Nelson (who also choreographed and wrote award-nominated screenplays) directed numerous television episodes of most of TV’s biggest hit series throughout the 1950s and 1960s, returning back to his roots in 1971 on the Broadway stage as “Buddy” in FOLLIES. A fascinating and accomplished life by a most agreeably charming and gifted performer, this is one book I highly recommend reading. Scott O’Brien has given us another remarkably well-written and detailed biography.


Judy Lazar (Amazon - March 13, 2024)

Excellent biography of a multitalented man

Gene Nelson was, in my opinion, the best of the best of the screen dancers … versatile, elegant, athletic, and so light on his feet. Scott O'Brien has put together an excellent biography of dancer, actor, director, choreographer Nelson, from his early days of tapdancing on his mother's hardwood floors to his time in the Army in World War II to his start in Hollywood musical films and dramas (he was a fine dramatic actor.) … and his prolific career as a director. O'Brien delves into Nelson's sometimes troubled personal life in a direct and honest manner. He was a human being, just as we all are. A lot of the information in the book comes from those who knew him best. All in all a fine read. 

I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947) with June Haver

Crime Wave (1954) with Sterling Hayden

Lullaby of Broadway (1951)

Oklahoma! (1955)

Tea for Two (1950) with Doris Day

Harum Scarum (1965) directing Elvis

The Girl Most Likely (1953) with Jane Powell

Good News (1974) with Alice Faye