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Eric Hilliard "Rick" Nelson, grave and tombstone, Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, LA, California, photo

Eric Hilliard "Rick" Nelson, grave and tombstone, Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, photo

The tombstone and grave site of Eric Hilliard Nelson, better known as Rick or Ricky Nelson. Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 at Teaneck, New Jersey, the younger son of Oswald ("Ozzie") and Harriet Hilliard Nelson. His parents were well known entertainers from The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet show which was first broadcast on radio from 1944 to 1954 and later on television from 1952 to 1966. From 1952 to 1954, the program had separate episodes on radio and television at the same time. Ricky made his first appearance in the radio series in 1949 at age eight along with his older brother David who was twelve. In 1957, his first recorded songs were released and Nelson quickly became a star in his own right. This led to several movie appearances, most notably in Rio Bravo (1959) co-starring along with John Wayne and Dean Martin and also in The Wackiest Ship in The Army (1960) co-starring Jack Lemmon. After the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet show ended in 1966, Nelson made several additional appearances on television and movies but primarily focused on his musical career. On December 31, 1985, after a performance at Guntersville, Alabama, Nelson and his fellow band members on board his private plane were killed when the plane developed problems and went down outside of De Kalb, Texas. The plane was consumed in flames killing all on board excepting the pilot and co-pilot who were able to escape. The band was en route to a New Year's Eve performance at Dallas, Texas.

Rick Nelson died on December 31, 1985 at De Kalb, Texas. Nelson was 45 years old. His remains are buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California. His grave marker is marked with his birth name of Eric Hilliard Nelson. His parents, Oswald ("Ozzie") and Harriet Hilliard Nelson are buried nearby.

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