Oswald George Nelson, also known as Ozzie, was born on March 20th, 1906, New Jersey. In order to make some extra cash as a student, he used to play saxophone in a band and coach football. During his spare time, Ozzie used to organize a dance band that, despite expectations, was very successful. During the Depression era, the success of his band allowed him to quit school in order to focus on a full-time career in music.
Nelson’s big break officially came in 1930 after The New York Daily Mirror released a poll to its readers to determine their favorite band. Nelson strategically had his band collect hundreds of newspapers that had been thrown out in order to fill out the ballots in their own favor. Thanks to their cheatery, they beat out Paul Whiteman and were pronounced the winners. Nelson and his band quickly starting gracing full houses at hotels and ballrooms all along the East Coast.
Ozzie Fell in Love With a Showgirl
After their Ozzie’s band experienced their big break in 1930, the Ozzie Nelson Band were signed to record several labels with Brunswick, Vocalion, Bluebird, and Victor. During this time, there was a vaudeville actress named Peggy Lou Snyder who was experiencing her own success in New York City. When Ozzie and Peggy's paths crossed, Ozzie was determined to recruit Peggy to be a part of his band.
He hired her to perform with his band and Peggy changed her name to Harriet Hilliard. Fans went crazy over Harriet's perky vocals which combined beautifully with Nelson's effortless and carefree voice. Harriet contributed to the bad skyrocketing to success. In 1935, the band had a number one hit with "And Then Some." The song was in the number one spot on the U.S. pop singles chart for an entire week.
Harriet Nelson
Harriet Nelson was born as Peggy Lou Snyder in Des Moines, Iowa. Born into a theatrical family, she made her acting debut at the ripe age of three when she first appeared on the vaudeville stage. By her teenage years, the actress was already appearing on Broadway and spending time with a crowd much older than her. This led her to the New York City club scene where she picked up smoking at age 13 and dropped out of high school.
After leaving school, she joined the Corps de Ballet at the Capitol Theater. She later danced in the Harry Carroll Revue as well as worked as a straight woman for comedians Ken Murray and Bert Lahr. Shortly after this gig, she would join Ozzie's band and help bring nationwide success to their band. The two would eventually tie the knot three years later. But, Ozzie wasn't Harriet's first rodeo.
Harriet Was Already In Love
When Harriet met Ozzie, she was still legally married. During her time dancing at the Cotton Club, Harriet (who was then still known as Peggy Lou) was married to a comedian named Roy Sedley. the pair married in 1930. Harriet was only 21 at the time, with Roy 9 years her senior.
Harriet soon saw that hanging around an older crowd wasn't all just fun, games, and clubbing. Roy was reportedly abusive towards Harriet during their entire marriage. After one year of a lousy marriage, the two separated. In 1933, the pair divorced. While these were probably some dark days for Harriet, she was lucky to meet Ozzie and have her entire life turn around. As they say, the rest is history.
Ozzie and Harriet Get Married
When Ozzie and Harriet started performing together, it was obvious that their blended personalities were the perfect match for each other on stage. Harriet was energetic and clever. Ozzie, on the other hand, was cool and laid-back. Their chemistry on stage was obvious to anybody who came to watch them.
However, their on-stage relationship wasn't the only budding relationship. Off the stage, the two couldn't deny their feelings for one another. In 1935, three years after Ozzie hired Harriet to sing in his band, they decided to make their relationship as official as it gets. By the 1950s, they were undeniably America's perfect fantasy couple.