- Born
- Died
- Birth nameDixie Kay Nelson
- Lori Nelson began her show biz career at the age of two-and-a-half, dancing in a show in her native Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was voted Santa Fe's most talented and beautiful child, and toured the state billed as "Santa Fe's Shirley Temple." At age four, Nelson moved to Hollywood with her parents and there was named Little Miss America. She worked as a fashion photographer's model, then (in the early 1940s) made her first bid for a movie career, testing (unsuccessfully) for a role in Warner Brothers' Kings Row (1942). There was a second false start a few years later, when Arthur M. Landau, a Hollywood producer and self-proclaimed "discoverer" of 1930s star Jean Harlow, expressed interest in casting teenage Nelson as Harlow in a movie bio. (The project never materialized.) Agent Milo O. Frank Jr. helped Nelson get into the movies, taking her to Universal to meet with casting people. Nelson trained with the studio dramatic coach, enacted a scene for the front office and ultimately was offered a seven-year contract, which was approved in court on her 17th birthday. After several years at Universal, she freelanced in movies and TV.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tom Weaver <TomWeavr@aol.com> - Most of Nelson's film career was in supporting parts, although she co-starred in the sequel of "The Creature Of The Black Lagoon", "Revenge Of The Creature" and in "Underwater!" starring Jane Russell and Richard Egan. In 1957 she co-starred with Van Johnson in a TV Thanksgiving holiday special, "The Pied Piper Of Hamelin".
That led to Nelson being cast in the TV version of 'How To Marry A Millionaire' along with Barbara Eden and Merry Andrews. It ran for 39 episodes. The Reading Eagle newspaper ran an article about the three actresses, "Low On Dough, High On Hope". Among other things, it claimed that before the show started, all three actresses owned Thunderbirds, and after being hired, all three owned Cadillacs. However Nelson left the show after the first series and was written out. She was replaced by Lisa Gaye.
After that, her television career was limited to guest roles. Her ex, Tab Hunter, cast her twice on "The Tab Hunter Show". She left acting in 1961, surfacing in 1971, then again in 1991. After that she was seen only a few times. Her final film to date is low-budget "The Naked Monster", a sequel to "Revenge Of The Creature".
On December 10, 1960, Nelson married composer Johnny Mann in Los Angeles. The couple had two daughters, Lori Susan and Jennifer, before divorcing in April 1973. In April 1983, Nelson married Joseph J. Reiner, a police officer
- IMDb mini biography by: Mlle Wackjob
- SpousesJoseph John Reiner(April 17, 1983 - August 23, 2020) (her death)Johnny Mann(December 10, 1960 - April 1973) (divorced, 2 children)
- Husky voice
- When the Ford Motor Co. introduced the 1955 Thunderbird, Lori was one of the first Hollywood actresses to get one. It came in white, but she had it custom-painted canary yellow.
- An expert pistol shot.
- As a child, toured veterans hospitals as an entertainer.
- In the early 1950s, 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds was 20-year-old Tab Hunter's first date; both she and 19-year-old Lori were constantly linked with Hunter as his romantic--and dating--companion by the movie colony's fan magazine reporters, with photographs of either actress with him during their studio film appearances as a couple. When Reynolds became engaged to crooner Eddie Fisher, Lori became his primary studio dating partner. Upon the success of Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Natalie Wood was matched with Hunter by Warner Bros. casting and publicity department as the new generation Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Wood engaged Hunter's agent Henry Willson as her agent just so she could meet another of Willson's clients--Robert Wagner.
- At the age 5, won the title of "Little Miss America" in a nationwide contest sponsored by the Screen Children's Guild.
- How do you get a millionaire? Listen.
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