Radio Nelson began his entertainment career in radio, and later moved into television and movies. In 1926, at age 15, Nelson played the role of a 30-year-old man in a series broadcast from
KOA in
Denver, Colorado. In 1929, Nelson moved to
Hollywood, California, and worked in local dramatic broadcasts, usually playing the
leading man.
Work with Jack Benny Nelson first found fame as the put-upon foil to
Jack Benny on
Benny's radio show during the 1940s and 1950s. Nelson began to appear on Benny's radio show in the late 1930s, doing various roles, but his eventual character began to take form around 1942. Nelson, whose character was never given a name, typically portrayed a sales clerk, dentist or customer service worker, and Benny's character would run into him seemingly out of nowhere. Whatever his occupation in a particular episode, Nelson's character would usually be polite and patient with all of his customers except for Benny.
Later years Toward the end of his life, Nelson enjoyed some newfound stardom among a younger generation of fans. He appeared in a string of commercials for
McDonald's doing his trademark "EEE-yeeeeeeeeesssss?" catchphrase during its 1981 vacation sweepstakes promotional campaign, in which he played an over-the-top passport agent. In a
Green Giant commercial in 1979, Nelson voiced a raccoon who snatches green beans from Sprout's wagon. He also did a cameo appearance on the
December 5, 1981, episode of
Saturday Night Live as a newsstand vendor, when
Tim Curry was the guest host. In addition to his onscreen work, Nelson was an in-demand
voiceover artist for
animated cartoons. In 1954, he narrated
Walter Lantz's cartoon short
Dig That Dog. In television cartoons, he made several appearances on
The Flintstones,
Calvin and the Colonel,
The Jetsons, and (as Governor Wetworth) on
The Snorks, among other programs. Between 1978 and 1979, he provided the voice of Uncle Dudley on
Dinky Dog. He also served as national president of
AFTRA (a performers' union) between 1954 and 1957. Nelson occasionally appeared in films in variations of his oily clerk characterization. One of his roles is in
Down Memory Lane (1949), in which he plays the manager of a TV station. He also appears in
So You Want to Know Your Relatives, a
Joe McDoakes spoof of
This Is Your Life; Nelson plays the master of ceremonies, ushering guests onstage. == Death ==