RIP: Gary Nelson
It was just announced today that Gary Nelson died of natural causes on May 25, 2022, at the age of 87. Mr. Nelson was a television and feature film director who had a career that spanned 65 years! Gary Nelson began his career as a second assistant director in 1955.
Gary Nelson directed many episodes of popular television shows including: Have Gun Will Travel; The Andy Griffith Show; Gunsmoke; It’s About Time; F Troup; Gilligan’s Island; Gomer Pyle; Get Smart; The Ghost and Mrs. Muir; Love American Style; Kojak; Police Story and The Magical World of Disney.
Television movies directed by Mr. Nelson include: To Kill a Cop; Murder Me, Murder You; More Than Murder; Get Smart, Again!; Revolver; The Return of Ironside and Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert, to name a few.
Gary Nelson also directed five feature films: Molly and Lawless John; Santee; The Black Hole; Jimmy the Kid and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.
What a long and distinguished career! Gary Nelson is probably best known as the director of The Black Hole. I love the range that he displayed as director, moving from situation comedies to one hour dramas and films of both genres with ease. Gary Nelson was also the original director of Sly Stallone’s Nighthawks. The IMDb lists him as an uncredited director, so I wonder if any scenes he shot made the final film.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gary Nelson’s family, friends and fans.
The scenes he shot in nighthawks were the foot chase and the gondola. Of course if you read the Wikipedia for the film it says Stallone did it which is a lie.
Garrett Nelson
Thank you for the comment!