Hot Famous Couples

The Ozzie and Harriett Nelson story started many years ago. Peggy Lou Snyder was born in Des Moines, Iowa. It was July 19, 1909. Ozzie Nelson was born in Jersey City in 1906. Ozzie grew up to excel in many sports. He was on the boxing team and football team at Rutgers University. When he was introduced to the ukulele, his life changed. He started out with Frank Leithner and this grew into a quartet. The group entertained at many local events. Ozzie went on to sing, play the banjo and the saxophone.

Ozzie and Harriet scene

Ozzie also attended law school. While there, he paid for his tuition with his orchestra. He also coached football. He later became a famous and well known band leader. It was the era of the big band.

By 1930, Ozzie had a radio show. This was before television and radio was the big entertainment medium. An unusual incident got Ozzie his big break in the band business. A New York newspaper ran a reader poll. Everyone was to vote for their favorite radio orchestra. In those days, news vendors only had to return the front sections of the papers to get credit for unsold copies.

Ozzie’s manager realized that all of the ballots were in the back pages of the newspaper. He struck a deal to obtain hundreds of unsold copies, along with the voting ballots. When it was all over, Ozzie Nelson was the most popular radio orchestra band. This gave Ozzie the notoriety that he needed, for his rise to the top.

Peggy Lou grew up to be a beauty queen and a vaudeville performer. She was raised in an entertainment atmosphere. Singing also came natural to the young beauty. She changed her name to Harriet Hillard. When she had the chance to audition for Ozzie Nelson’s band, she was impressive. Female band vocalists were a novelty then. She was only the second one to be used, this way.

Ozzie saw something in her that he instantly liked. It did not take long for them to become close. A few years later, they became man and wife. The rest of the story is history. Ozzie and Harriett Nelson became one of the most famous iconic families in the world.