Frank Nelson spent many years working in radio, not only in comedy, but also as a heavy and as a leading man. He met his first wife, Mary Lansing, while they were playing husband and wife on a radio show. As he once said on an Entertainment Tonight show in 1984, the beauty of radio was that anything you could do with your voice, you could do on radio because what you looked like didn’t matter.

Less well-known to the general public is that he devoted many years to AFRA/AFTRA, the union which he helped to create and, to a large extent, sacrificed his own career over. For that, multiple acolades were made at his memorial service by his fellow actors. Frank passed away on September 12, 1986.

Articles about Frank Nelson:

The Studio City Graphic, June 28, 1961
— Fran Erwin profiles Frank and Mary Nelson

Diallog (AFTRA L.A. Local Newsletter), Winter 1986/87
— Frank Nelson Remembered

The SPERDVAC Radiogram, Nov-Dec 1986
— A Special Tribute

an obituary from an AFTRA newsletter

Career Summary
— Written by Frank himself in the 1980s