Ozzie worked as both the developer and producer of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The show quickly took off in the 1940s. Ozzie, realizing that his boys were still too young for prime-time, decided to cast two different boys to fill in for them. Before you open the IMDB database to try and locate the original actors who played the two boys, we’ll disappoint you by telling you that you won’t have much luck.
The original actors only played the voice roles on the radio version of the show. After the show’s first five-year-run on the radio, in 1944, it came to television. Ozzie wanted his whole family to be in the show. So, he prepared his sons for their on-screen debut and when they were ready, David and Ricky appeared on camera. The radio show, meanwhile, continued for another two years.
Red Skeleton Gets Drafted to War
In 1944, Red Skeleton was drafted into the war. This proved to be the perfect opportunity for the Nelsons to secure their own spot on the radio. After they were regulars on Skeleton's radio show for three years, they finally landed their life-changing gig. Ozzie Nelson proposed the idea to have his own show to network executives at CBS and sponsor International Silver.
He suggested a show in which him and his family would be the main characters, similar to the T.V. show that would come later on. During the early days of the show, Ozzie put his passion for music to the side and focused on situation comedy. Ozzie was the co-writer and director for every episode of the show.
Starting a Family
One year after Ozzie and Harriet tied the knot, they welcomed a baby boy into their lives. They named their first son David. Ozzie was motivated to keep his family unit tight and thus strived for his family to work together as much as possible. Four years later in 1940, they gave birth to their second child, a son named Eric Hilliard, more commonly known as Ricky.
The couple quickly became America's ideal fantasy couple of the 1950s and earned the spot as “America’s Favorite Young Couple.” They would later allow their children to appear on the show but for now, they were much too young.
The Boys Play Themselves
By the fifth year of the show, David and Ricky began to regularly play themselves for the first time on the radio. At this point, David was 12 and Ricky was eight. By the time The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet came to television in 1952, David and Ricky played alongside their parents at the ages of 16 and 12, respectively. America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their two sons. The last episode of the show aired on television in 1966.
As mentioned, Ozzie was very hands-on with his show, both on the radio and on T.V. He was the producer and director of most of the episodes. He also co-wrote many of them. His brother, Don, was also a co-writer. Don was perhaps the most underrated member of the Nelson family. The audience didn’t meet this more silent family member as he didn’t work in front of the camera. He also coined Ricky’s famous catchphrase, “I don’t mess around, boy.”
Bing Crosby Convinced Ozzie to Include the Boys
As mentioned previously, Ozzie wanted to allow his young boys to grow up a bit before starring on their family's hit series. In 1949, he finally agreed to let his 8-year-old and 13-year-old sons, Ricky and David, take over their pivoted roles.
Bing Crosby was the one who ultimately convinced Ozzie that his kids were ready to be in front of a nationwide audience. Crosby had once had a guest appearance on Ozzie’s radio show and brought his own boys along for the live broadcast. After Ozzie and Harriet’s boys were introduced to television, they became big stars and the show's devoted audience loved them.