With MGM, Nelson made his screen debut in the role as Paul Clark in
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) starring
William Powell and
Myrna Loy, with
Donna Reed. He followed that with his role as Lew Rankin in the
film noir Johnny Eager (1942) starring
Robert Taylor and
Lana Turner. During his service in the
United States Army Air Forces during
World War II, Nelson debuted on the Broadway stage in
Moss Hart's play
Winged Victory (1943) in the role of Bobby Grills. His next Broadway appearance was as Peter Sloan, playwright, in Hart's
Light Up the Sky (1948). He appeared on Broadway with
Barbara Bel Geddes in the original Broadway production of
The Moon Is Blue. During the play's run, he also starred in a CBS half-hour drama called
The Hunter, premiering in July 1952. He played Bart Adams, a wealthy young American whose business activities involved him in a series of adventures. He also appeared with
Lauren Bacall in the
Abe Burrows comedy
Cactus Flower in 1965 The program also featured
Peter Lorre as
Le Chiffre, the primary villain. Nelson later noted the opportunity to work with Lorre was the reason he took the role. During the 1959 television series, Nelson starred in 39 episodes of ''
Hudson's Bay'', playing Johnathon Banner. Nelson appeared as Grant Decker in "Threat of Evil", a 1960 episode of
The DuPont Show with June Allyson. His additional television credits include guest appearances on
Alfred Hitchcock Presents,
Ben Casey,
The Twilight Zone (episode "
Stopover in a Quiet Town"),
Dr. Kildare, and in later years playing a hobo on an episode of
The Ropers. He appeared regularly on television in the 1960s, having been one of the ''
What's My Line? mystery guests and later serving as a guest panelist on that popular CBS quiz show. Nelson was also a semi-regular panelist on the daytime and nighttime versions of To Tell the Truth for three years of its run from 1962 to 1965, as well as a guest panelist a few times in 1967. Nelson appeared second-most-frequently on the daytime show in the three years he was a semi-regular. He was one of the various hosts of the NBC Radio program Monitor during the mid-1960s. Nelson appeared in both the stage and screen versions of Mary, Mary''. He directed the 1968 play
The Only Game in Town, as well as starring as Joe. In 1978, he was nominated for a
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Dan Connors in the Broadway musical
The Act (1977) with
Liza Minnelli. Nelson had a notable role as Stuart Ullman, the manager of the Overlook Hotel, in the
Stanley Kubrick horror film
The Shining (1980). His final appearance on Broadway was as Julian Marsh in
42nd Street (1986). "He was a very naturalistic, believable actor," said his agent, Francis Delduca. "He was good at both comedy and the serious stuff." ==Personal life==