American actor and writer (1921?2002)
George Nader
|
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Nader, circa 1960
|
Born
| George Garfield Nader, Jr.
[1]
[2]
(
1921-10-19
)
October 19, 1921
|
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Died
| February 4, 2002
(2002-02-04)
(aged 80)
|
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Occupations
| |
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Years active
| 1950?1974
|
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Partner
| Mark Miller (1947?2002; Nader's death)
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Relatives
| Michael Nader
(nephew)
|
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George Garfield Nader, Jr.
(October 19, 1921 ? February 4, 2002) was an American actor and writer of Lebanese descent.
[3]
He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, including
Sins of Jezebel
(1953),
Congo Crossing
(1956), and
The Female Animal
(1958). During this period, he also did episodic television and starred in several series, including
NBC
's
The Man and the Challenge
(1959?60). In the 1960s he made several films in Germany, playing FBI agent
Jerry Cotton
. He is remembered for his first starring role, in the low-budget 3-D sci-fi film
Robot Monster
(1953), known as "one of the worst films ever made."
[4]
Discreetly gay during his acting career, he and his life partner Mark Miller were among
Rock Hudson
's closest friends. After retiring from acting, he wrote
Chrome
(1978), a science-fiction novel dealing positively with a same-sex relationship.
[5]
Early life
[
edit
]
Nader was born in
Pasadena, California
, the son of Alice (nee Scott), who was from Kansas, and George Garfield Nader, who was from Illinois.
[6]
[7]
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in
theater arts
at
Occidental College
.
During
World War II
he served in the US Navy as a communications officer in the
Pacific theater
from 1943 to 1946.
[8]
Early career
[
edit
]
Nader began his acting career in 1950. He appeared in several productions at the
Pasadena Playhouse
over four years, which led to a number of bit parts in films.
[9]
He was in
Rustlers on Horseback
(1950) for
Republic Pictures
[10]
while also appearing on stage in
Summer and Smoke
at the Pasadena Playhouse.
[11]
He had small parts in
You're in the Navy Now
(1951),
The Prowler
(1951),
Take Care of My Little Girl
(1951),
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
(1951), and
Two Tickets to Broadway
(1951). He had a bigger part in a
Tim Holt
Western,
Overland Telegraph
(1951), and a drama,
Monsoon
(1952). He was going to star in a film called
GI Smith
, but production was canceled.
[12]
He had unbilled bit roles in the studio films
Phone Call from a Stranger
(1951) and
Down Among the Sheltering Palms
(1952).
Leading man
[
edit
]
Nader's first starring role was in
Robot Monster
(1953), a 3-D feature film directed by
Phil Tucker
. Although the film is remembered primarily for its "camp" attributes as "one of the worst films ever made,"
[4]
it was financially successful
[8]
and led to more prominent roles for Nader in other films. He supported
Paulette Goddard
in
Sins of Jezebel
(1953) and had a supporting role in
Carnival Story
(1954). He was the male love interest for
Miss Robin Crusoe
(1954) at Fox.
Meanwhile, Nader appeared regularly on TV shows such as
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
,
Hallmark Hall of Fame
,
Letter to Loretta
,
Cavalcade of America
,
Lux Video Theatre
, and
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
.
Universal Pictures
[
edit
]
He made a number of films for
Universal Studios
, alongside leading men such as
Rock Hudson
,
Tony Curtis
, and
Jeff Chandler
.
[
citation needed
]
His first film for Universal was a Western,
Four Guns to the Border
(1954), wherein he was billed beneath
Rory Calhoun
and
Colleen Miller
. He followed it with
Six Bridges to Cross
(1955), supporting
Tony Curtis
and
Julie Adams
in a role that Chandler had refused.
Nader was promoted to lead in
The Second Greatest Sex
(1955) opposite
Jeanne Crain
and in
Lady Godiva of Coventry
(1955) opposite
Maureen O'Hara
, stepping in for Chandler again. In 1955, he won a
Golden Globe Award
for "Most Promising Newcomer."
[5]
He starred opposite
Virginia Mayo
in
Congo Crossing
(1956) and was second-billed to Chandler in Universal's expensive war epic
Away All Boats
(1956).
[13]
He was
Esther Williams
's leading man in
The Unguarded Moment
(1956), which starred a young
John Saxon
. He had top billing in
Four Girls in Town
(1957) and
Man Afraid
(1957). Nader supported
Audie Murphy
in
Joe Butterfly
(1957), a military comedy.
[14]
He had the lead in
Appointment with a Shadow
(1958) and
Flood Tide
(1958). He was
Hedy Lamarr
's love interest in
The Female Animal
(1958), replacing
John Gavin
.
[15]
He had the starring role in
Nowhere to Go
, a 1958 British crime drama featuring the screen debut of
Maggie Smith
.
Television
[
edit
]
Nader moved into regular television roles in the late 1950s, appearing in several short-lived series, including
The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen
(1959) and
The Man and the Challenge
(1959?60). In 1961, he appeared in an
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
episode "Self Defense," with Audrey Totter; the following year, he returned for the "Where Beauty Lies" episode opposite
Cloris Leachman
. In the 1961?62 season, he appeared as insurance investigator Joe Shannon in the
syndicated
crime drama
Shannon
, co-starring with
Regis Toomey
.
[16]
Nader appeared frequently on
The Loretta Young Show
, a dramatic
anthology series
on NBC.
[
citation needed
]
He produced and directed
Walk by the Sea
(1963).
[17]
International
[
edit
]
Nader had the title role in a European swashbuckler,
The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan
(1963). He made
Zigzag
(1963) and
The Great Space Adventure
(1964) for
Albert Zugsmith
; both films were made in the Philippines. He starred in
The Human Duplicators
(1965) and regularly guest-starred on TV shows.
Nader went to Germany to star as FBI agent
Jerry Cotton
in the German film
Tread Softly
(1965). It was a hit and led to a series of films:
Manhattan Night of Murder
(1965),
Tip Not Included
(1966),
The Trap Snaps Shut at Midnight
(1966),
Murderers Club of Brooklyn
(1967),
Death in the Red Jaguar
(1968),
Death and Diamonds
(1968), and
Dead Body on Broadway
(1969).
He appeared in two
Harry Alan Towers
productions,
The Million Eyes of Sumuru
(1967) shot in Hong Kong and
The House of 1,000 Dolls
(1967) filmed in Spain. One of his last films was
Beyond Atlantis
(1973), made in the Philippines.
Writing
[
edit
]
In the 1970s, Nader suffered an eye injury in an automobile accident, which made him particularly sensitive to the bright lights of movie sets and forced him to retire from acting.
[5]
He began writing, including his 1978 science fiction novel
Chrome,
which dealt with a forbidden romance between a man and an android (also male).
[18]
[19]
According to
Variety
's
Army Archerd
, Nader had completed a book called
The Perils of Paul
(the title being a play on the melodrama serial
The Perils of Pauline
) about the gay community in Hollywood, which he did not want published until after his death.
[20]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Although Nader was not openly gay during his film career, he generally did not feign relationships with women to conceal it, instead deflecting questions by saying that he had not met "the right one."
[4]
[6]
Nader lived with his life partner, Mark Miller (November 22, 1926 ? June 9, 2015), whom he met in 1947 while they were acting in a play together.
[19]
[21]
Miller worked as Rock Hudson's personal secretary from 1972 until the star's death, and the couple inherited the interest from Hudson's $27 million estate after his death from AIDS complications in 1985.
[5]
[20]
Hudson biographer Sara Davidson described Nader, Miller, and another person as "Rock's family for most of his adult life."
[18]
Nader publicly acknowledged his sexual orientation shortly afterward.
[20]
Nader and Miller eventually settled in
Palm Springs
.
Stricken by multiple medical problems, Nader entered the hospital in September 2001. He died on February 4, 2002, in Woodland Hills, California, of cardiopulmonary failure,
pneumonia
, and multiple cerebral
infarctions
. He was survived by Miller (with whom he had spent 55 years), his cousins Sally Kubly and Roberta Cavell, and his nephew, actor
Michael Nader
.
[20]
His ashes were scattered at sea; a
cenotaph
in his honor, together with Mark Miller and Rock Hudson, exists in Cathedral City's
Forest Lawn Cemetery
.
[22]
In 2002, a Golden Palm Star on the
Palm Springs, California
,
Walk of Stars
was dedicated to him.
[23]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
1950
|
Rustlers on Horseback
|
Jack Reynolds
|
Credited as George Nadar
|
1950?1953
|
Fireside Theater
|
George
Mick
Charlie
Bob
Web Martin
|
Season 2 Episode 18: "The Golden Ball/Just Three Words" (1950) as George
Season 5 Episode 17: "The Lady Wears a Star" (1953) as Mick
Season 5 Episode 20: "Boundary Line" (1953) as Charlie
Season 6 Episode 6: "Refuge" (1953) as Bob
Season 6 Episode 12: "Appointment with Death" (1953) as Web Martin
|
1951
|
You're in the Navy Now
|
Crew member
|
Uncredited
|
The Prowler
|
Photographer
|
Uncredited
|
Take Care of My Little Girl
|
Jack Gruber
|
Uncredited
|
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
|
Commando
|
Uncredited, alternative titles:
Rommel, Desert Fox
&
The Desert Fox
|
Two Tickets to Broadway
|
Charlie, Crosby's Sound Technician
|
Uncredited
|
Overland Telegraph
|
Paul Manning
|
|
1952
|
Phone Call from a Stranger
|
Pilot
|
Uncredited
|
Gruen Guild Playhouse
|
|
TV, 1 episode
|
Big Town
|
|
Season 2 Episode 38: "Baby Sitter"
|
Monsoon
|
Burton
|
|
Han glomde henne aldrig
|
Chris Kingsley
|
English version, Voice
|
1953
|
Down Among the Sheltering Palms
|
Lieutenant Homer Briggs
|
Uncredited
|
Your Jeweler's Showcase
|
|
Season 1 Episode 18: "Heart's Desire"
|
Robot Monster
|
Roy
|
Alternative titles:
Monster from Mars
&
Monsters from the Moon
|
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
|
Richard MacLeod
|
Season 2 Episode 44: "Richard and the Lion"
|
Your Play Time
|
|
TV, 1 episode
|
Sins of Jezebel
|
Jehu
|
|
Hallmark Hall of Fame
|
Joseph McCoy
|
(TV movie) "McCoy of Abilene"
|
1953?1961
|
The Loretta Young Show
|
(1) Keith Warren
(2) Arthur Wayne
(3) Steve Baxter
(4) Newton Ralston
(5) Robert Schumann
(6) Charles Diebold
(7) Barry Kendall
(8) Austin Granger
|
Season 1 Episode 1: "Trial Run" (1953) as (1)
Season 1 Episode 2: "The Mirror" (1953) as (2)
Season 1 Episode 8: "Kid Stuff" (1953) as (3)
Season 1 Episode 15: "Hotel Irritant" (1953) as (4)
Season 1 Episode 26: "The Clara Schumann Story" (1954) as (5)
Season 1 Episode 31: "The Enchanted Schoolteacher" (1954) as (6)
Season 1 Episode 33: "Oh, My Aching Heart" (1954) as (7)
Season 8 Episode 20: "The Choice" (1961) as (8)
|
1954
|
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
|
Bill Ferris
|
Season 1 Episode 16: "Account Closed" as Bill Ferris
Season 1 Episode 22: "His Brother's Girl"
|
Carnival Story
|
Bill Vines
|
|
Cavalcade of America
|
Eliphalet Remington II
|
Season 2 Episode 30: "Midnight School"
Season 3 Episode 3: "The Forge" as Eliphalet Remington II
|
Four Guns to the Border
|
Bronco
|
Alternative title:
Shadow Valley
|
Miss Robin Crusoe
|
Jonathan
|
|
1954?1957
|
Lux Video Theatre
|
Jeremy
Don
Dr. Frank Matson
|
Season 5 Episode 9: "An Angel Went AWOL" (1954) as Jeremy
Season 7 Episode 9: "The Glass Web" (1956) as Don
Season 7 Episode 22: "One Way Street" (1957) as Dr. Frank Matson
|
1955
|
Six Bridges to Cross
|
Edward Gallagher
|
|
The Second Greatest Sex
|
Matt Davis
|
|
Lady Godiva of Coventry
|
Lord Leofric
|
|
1956
|
Congo Crossing
|
David Carr
|
|
Away All Boats
|
Lieutenant Dave MacDougall
|
|
The Unguarded Moment
|
Lieutenant Harry Graham
|
Alternative title:
The Gentle Web
|
1957
|
Four Girls in Town
|
Mike Snowden
|
|
Man Afraid
|
Reverend David Collins
|
|
Joe Butterfly
|
Sergeant Ed Kennedy
|
|
Climax!
|
Harry Parker
|
Season 3 Episode 41: "The Stranger Within"
|
Appointment with a Shadow
|
Paul Baxter
|
|
Flood Tide
|
Steve Martin
|
Alternative title:
Above All Things
|
1958
|
The Female Animal
|
Chris Farley
|
|
Nowhere to Go
|
Paul Gregory
|
|
1959
|
The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen
|
Ellery Queen
|
TV, 25 episodes
|
1959?1960
|
The Man and the Challenge
|
Dr. Glenn Barton
|
TV, 36 episodes
|
1960
|
Laramie
|
Wells Clark
|
Season 2 Episode 8: ".45 Caliber"
|
1961
|
The Andy Griffith Show
|
Dr. Robert Benson
|
Season 1 Episode 24: "The New Doctor"
|
Shannon
|
Joe Shannon
|
TV, 36 episodes
|
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
|
Gerald R. Clarke
|
Season 6 Episode 32: "Self Defense"
|
1962
|
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
|
Collin Hardy
|
Season 7 Episode 38: "Where Beauty Lies"
|
The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan
|
d'Artagnan
|
|
1963
|
Zigzag
|
The Hunter
|
|
The Great Space Adventure
|
|
|
A Walk by the Sea
|
|
|
1965
|
The Human Duplicators
|
Glenn Martin
|
Alternative titles:
Space Agent K1
&
Jaws of the Alien
|
Burke's Law
|
Chris Maitland
|
Season 2 Episode 30: "Who Killed the Jackpot"
|
Schusse aus dem Geigengasten
|
Jerry Cotton
|
|
Espionage in Lisbon
|
Drunk entering hotel-room
|
Uncredited
|
Manhattan Night of Murder
|
Jerry Cotton
|
|
1966
|
The Trap Snaps Shut at Midnight
|
|
Die Rechnung ? eiskalt serviert
|
|
1967
|
Der Morderclub von Brooklyn
|
|
The Million Eyes of Sumuru
|
Agent Nick West
|
|
The House of 1,000 Dolls
|
Stephen Armstrong
|
|
1968
|
Dynamit in gruner Seide
|
Jerry Cotton
|
|
Radhapura ? Endstation der Verdammten
[
de
]
|
Steve Weston
|
|
Tod im Roten Jaguar
|
Jerry Cotton
|
|
1969
|
Todesschusse am Broadway
|
|
1972
|
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
|
|
Season 1 Episode 15: "Warlock at Mach 3"
|
The F.B.I.
|
|
Season 8 Episode 8: "A Game of Chess"
|
1973
|
Beyond Atlantis
|
Nereus
|
Alternative title:
Sea Creatures
|
1974
|
Nakia
|
McMasters
|
TV movie, (final film role)
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Obituary for George Garfield NADER"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
"FamilySearch.org"
.
FamilySearch
.
- ^
Hayward, Anthony (September 9, 2021).
"Michael Nader Obituary"
.
The Guardian
.
- ^
a
b
c
Bergan, Ronald (February 8, 2002).
"Obituary: George Nader"
.
The Guardian
. London.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Obituaries: George Nader"
.
The Independent
. London. February 8, 2002.
- ^
a
b
Graham, Sheilah (August 5, 1956).
"George Nader of Movies Not Single by Choice"
.
Daily Boston Globe
. Archived from
the original
on January 31, 2013.
- ^
"Is George Nader his real name?"
.
The Boston Globe
. March 12, 1957
. Retrieved
January 22,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Woo, Elaine (February 6, 2002).
"George Nader, 80; Star of '50s Movies"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
"The Life Story of George Nader".
Picture Show
.
64
(1657). London: 12. January 1, 1955.
- ^
"Film News"
.
The Western Star
. No. 87. Queensland, Australia. March 13, 1951. p. 4
. Retrieved
October 13,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"Hollywood Notes"
.
The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder
. Vol. 40, no. 4002. January 23, 1951. p. 6
. Retrieved
October 13,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
Schallert, Edwin (November 2, 1951).
"Drama: 'G.I. Smith' Will Star George Nader; Reinhardt to Direct Pier Angeli"
.
Los Angeles Times
. p. B9.
- ^
Parsons, Louella (March 24, 1955). "George, Jeff Land in Same Boat".
The Washington Post and Times-Herald
. p. 66.
- ^
Hopper, Hedda (June 23, 1957). "Bachelor George Nader Bored by Going Out 'Just to Be Seen'
".
Los Angeles Times
. p. E3.
- ^
Pryor, Thomas M. (May 17, 1957).
"UNIVERSAL CASTS TWO IN NEW FILM: Jane Powell, George Nader to Appear in 'Female Animal' --Actor Replaces Gavin"
.
The New York Times
. p. 19.
- ^
"DID YOU KNOW?"
.
The Australian Women's Weekly
. Vol. 30, no. 4. June 27, 1962. p. 9 (Teenagers' Weekly)
. Retrieved
October 13,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
Galloway, Doug (February 4, 2002).
"George Nader; Actor-writer"
.
Variety
. p. 70.
- ^
a
b
"George Nader, 80, Actor and Sci-Fi Writer"
.
The New York Times
. February 12, 2002
. Retrieved
July 6,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Smyth, Mitchell (May 10, 1992). "Rock left actor millions".
Toronto Star
. p. D5.
ProQuest
436637312
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Archerd, Army (February 4, 2002).
"Nader's death another sad finale to a glamorous H'w'd life"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
July 6,
2008
.
- ^
"George Nader (1921-2002)"
.
Brian's Drive-In Theater
. October 19, 2020
. Retrieved
January 22,
2021
.
- ^
Wilson, Scott.
Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons
, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 34104-34105). McFarland & Co. Kindle Edition.
- ^
"Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on October 13, 2012
. Retrieved
March 27,
2013
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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People
| |
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