Early life

Born Dixie Kay Nelson in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Nelson is the great-grandniece of John J. Pershing. She began her career at the age of 2 appearing in local theater productions. When Nelson was 4 years old, her family moved to Encino, California. At the age of 5, she won the title of Little Miss America. During her childhood, she toured veteran's hospitals entertaining patients. At age 7, Nelson contracted rheumatic fever which left her bedridden for four years. After she recovered, she returned to pageants and won the title of Miss Encino at age 17. After graduating from Canoga Park High School, Nelson worked as a model. In 1950, she was signed to a 7-year contract with Universal-International.

Career

Nelson made her film debut in the 1952 Western Bend of the River. Later that year, she appeared as "Rosie Kettle" in the comedy film Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair, followed by a supporting role in Francis Goes to West Point. In 1955, Nelson guest starred in two episodes of It's a Great Life, and reprised her role as "Rosie Kettle" in Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki. That same year, she co-starred in the Creature From the Black Lagoon sequel Revenge of the Creature.

Her supporting roles in films also included the low-budget sci-fi story Day the World Ended (1955), directed by Roger Corman, and a big-budget Paramount Pictures comedy-Western, Pardners, starring Martin and Lewis in one of their final films together. Nelson had a featured role in I Died a Thousand Times, a 1955 remake of High Sierra, as well as in 1954's Destry, a remake of Destry Rides Again.

She was one of the leads in an 18th-century adventure story, Mohawk. Nelson had top billing in a street-racing film, Hot Rod Girl, also starring Chuck Connors, and the following year she co-starred opposite Mamie Van Doren as law-breakers sentenced to work on a "punishment" farm in Untamed Youth.

On television in November 1957, Nelson co-starred with Van Johnson in the television film The Pied Piper of Hamelin, which aired on NBC as a Thanksgiving Day television special.

Also in 1957, she was cast in one of the three lead roles in the syndicated sitcom How to Marry a Millionaire. Based on the 1953 film of the same name, Nelson starred as "Greta Hanson", a brainy psychology major who works as an usher on a television game show. The series also starred Barbara Eden and Merry Anders. Nelson opted to leave the series after the first season and her character was written out.

After leaving the series, Nelson continued with guest roles on Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Tab Hunter Show, Bachelor Father, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. She took a ten-year break from acting in 1961 and returned with a guest role in Family Affair in 1971. Nelson has since worked sporadically. She made only three on-screen appearances in the 1990s including a role in the direct-to-video release Mom, Can I Keep Her? (1998). Her last role to date was in the 2005 low-budget science fiction horror film The Naked Monster, in which she reprised her Revenge of the Creature role.

Personal life

Relationships

In the early 1950s, Nelson dated actor Tab Hunter. The relationship was fodder for gossip columnists at the time and there was speculation that the two would marry. In his 2005 autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, Hunter admitted that he considered marrying Nelson but was still struggling to come to terms with his true sexuality. While Hunter was dating Nelson, he was also secretly involved with figure skater Ronald Robertson. The two eventually stopped dating but remained friendly. Hunter later cast Nelson in two guest starring roles on his NBC sitcom The Tab Hunter Show.

Marriages and children

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 police officer Joseph J. Reiner.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Bend of the River	Marjie Baile
1952	Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair	Rosie Kettle
1952	Francis Goes to West Point	Barbara Atwood
1953	All I Desire	Lily Murdoch
1953	The All American	Sharon Wallace
1953	Walking My Baby Back Home	Claire Millard
1953	Tumbleweed	Laura	Alternative title: Three Were Renegades
1954	Destry	Martha Phillips
1954	Underwater!	Gloria	Alternative title: The Big Rainbow
1955	Revenge of the Creature	Helen Dobson
1955	Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki	Rosie Kettle
1955	Sincerely Yours	Sarah Cosgrove
1955	I Died a Thousand Times	Velma
1955	Day the World Ended	Louise Maddison
1956	Mohawk	Cynthia Stanhope
1956	Pardners	Carol Kingsley
1956	Hot Rod Girl	Lisa Vernon
1957	Untamed Youth	Jane Lowe
1957	Outlaw's Son	Lila Costain	Alternative titles: Gambling Man His Father's Son
1991	Black Gaucho		Alternative title: Gaúcho Negro
1998	Mom, Can I Keep Her?	Stephanie	Direct-to-video release
2005	The Naked Monster	Dr. Helen Dobson

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	It's a Great Life	Vera Thompson	2 episodes
1955-1956	Climax!	Mary	2 episodes
1957	The 20th Century Fox Hour	Cathy Devlin	Episode: "Threat to a Happy Ending"
1957	The Pied Piper of Hamelin	Mara	Television film
1957-1958	How to Marry a Millionaire	Greta Hanson	39 episodes
1959	Wanted: Dead or Alive	White Antelope aka Doris Albright	Episode: "Bounty for a Bride"
1959	The Texas	Elizabeth	Episode: "The Man Hater"
1959	Wagon Train	Charity Steele	Episode: "The Steele Family Story"
1959	The Millionaire	Lorraine Daggett	Episode: "Millionaire Lorraine Daggett"
1959	General Electric Theater	Sylvia	Episode: "Night Club"
1959	Sugarfoot	Ellen Conway	Episode: "The Gaucho"
1959	Tales of Wells Fargo	Susan	Episode: "Relay Station"
1960	Lock-Up	Honey Evans	Episode: "The Seventh Hour"
1960-1961	The Tab Hunter Show	Various roles	2 episodes
1961	Dante	Cynthia Rogers	Episode: "Dial D for Dante"
1961	Laramie	Grace	Episode: "Trigger Point"
1961	Bachelor Father	Spring Loring	Episode: "Drop That Calorie"
1961	Whispering Smith	Mrs. Venetia Molloy	Episode: "Double Edge"
1961	Armstrong Circle Theatre	Mrs. Median	2 episodes
1971	Family Affair	Dr. Joan Blanton	Episode: "Goodbye, Mrs. Beasley"
1994	Secret Sins of the Father	Mrs. Lieber	Television film

[ Source: Wikipedia ]