NELSON, Craig T. 1944(?)–

(Craig Nelson)

PERSONAL

Full name, Craig Theodore Nelson; born April 4, 1944 (some sources cite 1946), in Spokane, WA; father, a drummer; married Robin (divorced, 1978); married Doria Nelson (an actress), 1987; children: (first marriage) Tiffany, Christopher, Noah. Education: Attended University of Arizona; studied at Oxford Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. Avocational Interests: Race car driving, golf.

Addresses: Agent—Endeavor, 9701 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Manager—Tavel Entertainment, 9171 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 406, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Publicist—Cynthia Synder Public Relations, 5739 Colfax Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91601–1636.

Career: Actor, producer, director, and writer. Appeared as "Mr. Peanut" in advertisements for a supermarket chain; performed stand–up comedy routines with Barry Levinson at various clubs; appeared in television commercials for Maaco car painters, 1995, Slick 50 engine treatment, 1995, Hitachi Ultravision TV, 1996, Maaco Auto Painting, 1997; also worked as a security guard, logger, janitor, teacher, carpenter, plumber, surveyor, and security analyst.

Member: Screen Actors Guild.

Awards, Honors: Oxford Theatre scholarship, Eddie Cantor Foundation, 1967; Emmy Award nominations, outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, 1990, 1991, Emmy Award, leading actor in a comedy series, 1992, Golden Globe Award nominations, best actor in a musical or comedy, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995, all for Coach; TV Guide Award nomination, actor of the year in a new series, 2001, Golden Satellite Award nomination, best performance by an actor in a series—drama, 2002, both for The District.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

(As Craig Nelson) Sergeant O'Connor, The Return of Count Yorga (also known as The Abominable Count Yorga and Curse of Count Yorga), 1971.

(Uncredited) Voice of the monster, Flesh Gordon, 1972.

Frank Bowers, ... And Justice for All, Columbia, 1979.

Second geologist, The Formula (also known as Die Formel), Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer, 1980.

Captain William Woodbridge, Private Benjamin, Warner Bros., 1980.

Cop on stand, Where the Buffalo Roam, Universal, 1980.

Deputy Ward Wilson, Stir Crazy, Columbia, 1981.

Steve Freeling, Poltergeist, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer/United Artists, 1982.

Coach Nickerson, All the Right Moves (also known as All Right), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1983.

Bernie Ackerman, Man, Woman, and Child, Paramount, 1983.

Bernard Osterman, The Osterman Weekend, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1983.

Winston, Silkwood, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1983.

Major Reeves, Military attache, The Killing Fields, Warner Bros., 1984.

Steve Freeling, Poltergeist II (also known as Poltergeist II: The Other Side), Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer/United Artists, 1986.

Peter Dellaplane, Action Jackson, Lorimar, 1988.

Peter Karamis, Me and Him (also known as Ich und Er), Columbia, 1988.

Freddy Nefler, Troop Beverly Hills, Columbia, 1989.

Marlyn Huutula, Rachel River, Taurus, 1989.

Police Chief Howard Hyde, Turner and Hooch, Buena Vista, 1989.

Gli indifferenti, 1989.

District Attorney Ed Peters, Ghosts of Mississippi (also known as Medgar Evers, The Ghost of Mississippi, The Murder of Medgar Evers, Ghosts From the Past, and Free at Last), Castle Rock, 1996.

The Cowboy, I'm Not Rappaport, Gramercy, 1996.

Alexander Cullen, Devil's Advocate (also known as Im Auftrag des Teufels), Warner Bros., 1997.

(Uncredited) Senator John Neal, Wag the Dog, New Line Cinema, 1997.

Himself, The Directors: Norman Jewison, 1997.

(Uncredited) Top of the World (also known as Cold Cash and Showdown), 1997.

Litten Mandrake, The Skulls (also known as Le clan des skulls), Twentieth Century–Fox, 2000.

Cole Twain, All Over Again, 2000.

Voices of Bob Parr and Mr. Incredible, The Incredibles, Buena Vista, 2004.

Television Appearances; Series:

Kenneth A. Dutton, Chicago Story, NBC, 1981–1982.

Colonel Raynor Sarnac, Call to Glory (also known as Air Force), ABC, 1984–1985.

Host, Heroes: Made in the U.S.A., syndicated, 1986.

Coach Hayden Fox (title role), Coach, ABC, 1989–1997.

Chief Jack Mannion, The District, CBS, 2000–2004.

Also appeared in Lohman and Barkley Show.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Jack Ramsey, Murder in Texas, NBC, 1981.

Harley Steinmetz, Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (also known as Desperados: The Camarena Story), NBC, 1990.

Drew Morgan, The Fire Next Time, CBS, 1993.

Jim Harris, "1996," If These Walls Could Talk, HBO, 1996.

Simon Chase, Creature (also known as Peter Benchley's Creature), NBC, 1998.

Narrator, The Fifty, 1999.

Tom Carr, To Serve and Protect (also known as Family Shield), NBC, 1999.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker, 1979.

Major Landau, The Promise of Love, CBS, 1980.

Ray, Rage!, NBC, 1980.

Daniels, Inmates: A Love Story, ABC, 1981.

Michael Caswell, Paper Dolls, ABC, 1983.

Frank Deford, Alex: The Life of a Child, ABC, 1986.

Senator Edward Kennedy, The Ted Kennedy, Jr., Story, NBC, 1986.

Major Bill Harcourt, Murderers among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, HBO, 1989.

Philip Toll, Extreme Close–Up (also known as Home Video), NBC, 1990.

Walter Winchell, The Josephine Baker Story, HBO, 1991.

Russ Fine, The Switch, CBS, 1993.

Lieutenant Louis Whitmire, Probable Cause (also known as Sleepless), Showtime, 1994.

Frank Shelby, Ride with the Wind (also known as Ride the Wind), ABC, 1994.

Larry Reece, Take Me Home Again (also known as The Lies Boys Tell), NBC, 1994.

Sheriff Simon Leis, Dirty Pictures, Showtime, 2000.

Television Appearances; Specials:

(Uncredited) Himself, The Making of "Poltergeist," 1982.

The Comedy Store's Twentieth Birthday, 1992.

Bob Hope: The First Ninety Years, NBC, 1993.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, ABC, 1993.

Host, The Ultimate Driving Challenge, CBS, 1993.

Segment host "Monday Night Football," ABC's 40th Anniversary Special, ABC, 1994.

Coach Hayden Fox, The Coach Retrospective: Mary Hart Goes One–on–One with "Coach," ABC, 1994.

The American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg (also known as The American Film Institute Life Achievement Award), NBC, 1995.

Caesars Palace 30th Anniversary Celebration, ABC, 1996.

Host, Top Speed (documentary), History Channel, 1999.

Himself, Curse of Poltergeist: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 2002.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

The 47th Annual Golden Globe Awards, TBS, 1990.

The 43rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Presentation, Fox, 1991.

Presenter, The 18th Annual People's Choice Awards, 1992.

Presenter, The 45th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 1993.

Presenter, The 52nd Annual Tony Awards, 1998.

Presenter, The 1st Annual Laureus Sports Awards, TNT, 2000.

Presenter, The 28th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 2002.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Kenneth A. Dutton, The Chicago Story, NBC, 1981.

Michael Caswell, "Paper Dolls," Paper Dolls, 1982.

Colonel Raynor Sarnac, Call to Glory, 1984.

Ralph "Papa" Thorson, The Huntress, USA Network, 2000.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Charlie, "Mary Richards and the Incredible Plant Lady," The Mary Tyler Moore Show, CBS, 1973.

Stone, "Angels on the Run," Charlie's Angels, ABC, 1978.

Sam, "The Deadly Sting," Wonder Woman, CBS, 1978.

Tugger, "The Rustler," How the West Was Won, 1979.

Father Phil, "Christmas Story," The White Shadow, CBS, 1980.

Charlie Bathgate, "Out to Lunch," WKRP in Cincinnati, CBS, 1981.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, 1990.

Godfrey/Perciville, "Red Riding Hood," Storybook Cinema, 1994.

Himself, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC, 1998.

(Uncredited) Himself as Jack Mannion, "Jimmy's Jimmy," Yes, Dear, CBS, 2001.

Chief Jack Mannion, "Doublecrossover," The Agency, CBS, 2002.

Television Work; Series:

Co–executive producer, Coach, ABC, 1992–1997.

Co–executive producer and consulting producer, The District, CBS, 2003–2004.

Also worked as producer of fifty–two episodes of American Still, a syndicated documentary series on American artists.

Television Work; Movies:

Executive producer, Ride with the Wind (also known as Ride the Wind), ABC, 1994.

Television Work; Specials:

Contributing producer, contributing director, and co–executive producer, The Coach Retrospective: Mary Hart Goes One–on–One with "Coach," ABC, 1994.

Television Director; Episodic:

Coach, ABC, 1992–1997.

"Convictions," The District, CBS, 2002.

"Into the Sunset," The District, CBS, 2003.

Stage Appearances:

Harold "Okie" Peterson, Friends, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City, 1983–1984.

(Broadway debut) Nat Miller, Ah, Wilderness!, Vivian Beaumont Theater, 1998.

Also appeared in Hamlet; Richard II; Cyrano de Bergerac; The Seagull; Hello Dolly; Who'll Save the Ploughboy; Taming of the Shrew; The Fantasticks.

WRITINGS

Television Episodes:

(With Barry Levinson and others) The Tim Conway Comedy Hour, CBS, 1970.

(With Levinson and others) The John Byner Comedy Hour, CBS, 1972.

"Grandma Goes to Work," The Famous Teddy Z, 1989.

"Agent of the Year," The Famous Teddy Z, 1989.

"Somewhere Out There," Coach, ABC, 1997.

(Story only) "Ten Thirty Three," The District, 2004.

Contributed, with Levinson, material to the Lohman and Barkley Show, Los Angeles, and the Alan King Special.

Television Movies:

Ride with the Wind (also known as Ride the Wind), ABC, 1994.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Daily News, January 1, 1990, p. 66.

Parade, March 29, 1992.

TV Guide, January 30, 1993.