The Casino File
There will be a multitude of holiday extravaganzas mounted on local casino stages over the next month or so. But only one, “An Ozzie & Harriett Christmas,” starring twin brothers Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, will be a personal celebration of a family whose roots in show business date back more than a century.
Gunnar and Matthew, of course, are the early-1990s chart-topping sons of 1950s rock ‘n’ roll teen idol Ricky Nelson, and the grandsons of Ozzie and Harriett Nelson, who spent the mid-20th century as stars of pop music, film, radio and, most famously, television where they became avatars of the 1950s via their beloved sitcom, “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.”
But to the Nelson boys and their sister, actress Tracy (“Father Dowling Mysteries”), Ozzie and Harriet weren’t pop-culture titans; they were the loving, nurturing Grandpa and Grandma who provided them Yuletide memories they continue to cherish.
Gunnar and his brother “lost our Grandpa Ozzie when we were 10 years old,” offered the 58-year-old Gunnar during a recent phone call from his Nashville home. “But we do remember him quite well. Ironically enough, the times that we really remember him the most were at Christmas, when we would go over to the ‘Ozzie & Harriet’ House.
“The exterior shot that opened up ‘The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet’ television show was actually their real home in Hollywood. And that was the house that we all used to go to. All the Nelsons used to converge on that house on Christmas Eve and have a great dinner and catch up on the year and all that stuff. Matthew and I used to hang out with our cousins and get to play with them.
“But I always remembered after dinner, it was what you would imagine the Nelson home would be like. There was a great little Christmas tree by the fire, instruments would come out and people would sing songs. It was just a wonderful, wonderful time. And the whole intent of this show is to kind of recreate that emotion. It’s really about connection.”
The word “connection,” he added, came from his grandmother (who died in 1994) with whom, he said, he and his brother had an especially close relationship (he proudly noted that she joined them on a Nelson tour in 1990).
“She was awesome. She always reminded the two of us that the Nelson family has never been in the entertainment business; we’ve always been in the ‘connection business.’ That’s what [the family] has always done for over a hundred years. And so, keeping that in mind, I can’t think of a holiday that is more connected to what life is supposed to be all about than Christmas.”
According to Nelson — who, with his brother, co-authored the autobiography, “What Happened to Your Hair?” which is due out Dec. 16 — their Tropicana program is not just a recital of seasonal songs and Nelson hits like “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” and “After the Rain.”
“The show tells the story of three Nelson Family Christmases starting out with Ozzie and Harriet in their big band days in the ’20s and ’30s,” he explained. “And then, our dad’s in the ’50s, and to Matthew’s and mine as kids in the ’70s.
“It’s a lot of fun. It’s more than just us playing music. It’s us telling stories [with] great video support. We even start the show with snippets from an ‘Ozzie & Harriet’ episode called ‘Busy Christmas.’
“It’s one of those things you can bring to all the generations of your family whether you’re too young to know who we are, or our dad or our grandparents. It really is kind of cool. It’s a very American story and it kind of parallels what was going on in the culture during all of those different eras.
“And it kind of gets you back into the spirit of everything. And frankly, I think with the world being the way it is these days, we need what Christmas is supposed to be all about, which is love and family and togetherness and giving. And that’s what the show is.”
While Ozzie & Harriet were the first Nelsons to capture mass-media fame, the family’s show-business legacy dates back to the 19th century when Ozzie’s ancestors were Scandinavian circus performers. Counting Ozzie’s parents, that makes Gunnar and Matthew fourth-generation entertainers (and the third with at least one chart-topping smash single). So, is there another one on the horizon?
“Well,” said Gunnar, “Matthew’s got a little boy named Ozzie. He’s 11, and he seems to love music. And so, who knows? He might be generation number four with a number-one song. You never know.”
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
A fond farewell
Over at Ocean Casino Resort, veteran public relations maestro Brian Brennan has left the building.
Brian, who spent a number of years beating the media drums at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa before heading to the Boardwalk, was a true pro who was never less than a pleasure to work with: thorough, conscientious and passionate about his job. But most important of all, he never treated the often-frustrating-and-infuriating media with anything other than respect and a sense of camaraderie.
Here’s wishing one of AyCee’s true good guys nothing but success in his future adventures.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
