Barry Nelson, the strong-jawed, ever dependable actor who started off with MGM studios in the early '40s as a capable leading man, and then matured into a distinguished character actor later in life, died of natural causes on April 7 at a hotel in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was 89.

He was born Robert Nielson in San Francisco on April 16, 1917. He later attended the University of California at Berkeley, performing in many plays for the university. One such production, Macbeth, had the good fortune of having a talent scout from MGM in the audience. Liking what he saw in the promising young actor on stage, the scout secured a screen test for Nelson and soon he was a contract player for the studio giant.

At MGM, Nelson got to work as the young standout in a variety of box-office hits with some top stars: William Powell and Myrna Loy in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), Robert Taylor for Johnny Eager (1942), and a pair of solid war dramas, with Taylor again in Bataan and then Spencer Tracy for A Guy Named Joe (both 1943). That same year, with his serious ambitions as an actor, Nelson made the foray onto Broadway in the U.S. Army's production of Moss Hart's Winged Victory. Receiving good notices, he was also in George Cukor's film adaptation in 1944.

After the war, Nelson made a few more films with MGM: The Beginning or the End (1947), Undercover Maisie (1947), and Tenth Avenue Angel (1948), but he found more success on the stage. When he relocated to New York, he found work in many live anthology shows that were so popular in the '50s. Programs such as Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, The Philco Television Playhouse, and Robert Montgomery Presents displayed Nelson's range to good effect; his affable presence and clean-cut good looks made him a natural for some television series as well. CBS placed him in two shows: as an international, jet-setting adventurer in The Hunter (1952-54) and the charming sitcom My Favorite Husband (1953-55), co-starring Joan Caulfield. And for anyone curious to answer this pop quiz curio. Yes! He really was the first actor to play Ian Fleming's James Bond. In a Casino Royale segment of the show Climax!, Nelson was a bow-tied "Jimmy Bond" that aired on October 21, 1954. Apart from the small screen, Nelson excelled on Broadway, appearing in such productions as The Moon Is Blue, Cactus Flower and The Act for which he received a Tony Award nomination as best actor in a musical in 1978.

In the latter stages of his career, he was always worth watching: as Bob Baily in the miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977); as Stuart Ullman, the manager of the ill-fated Overlook hotel in Stanley Krubrick's The Shining (1980). He also delivered a wonderful cameo as a bemused psychiatrist handling Latka's (Andy Kaufman) split personalities in the terrific Mr. Personalities episode from Taxi in 1981. Elsewhere, he made pleasant appearances in a few more shows throughout the '80s: Magnum, P.I., Fantasy Island, and Murder, She Wrote before his career slowed down. He is survived by his wife Nansilee.

by Michael T. Toole