George Nader

{{about|the actor|the businessman and sex offender|George Nader (businessman)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = George Nader

| image = George Nader 1959-60 NBC.jpg

| caption = Nader, circa 1960

| birth_name =George Garfield Nader, Jr.{{Cite web|url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/clip/71152863/obituary-for-george-garfield-nader/|title=Obituary for George Garfield NADER |website=Los Angeles Times|date=September 5, 1974 |page=60 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGL4-VBSP|title=FamilySearch.org|website=FamilySearch }}

| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|10|19|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Pasadena, California, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2002|2|4|1921|10|19|mf=yes}}

| death_place = Woodland Hills, California, U.S.

| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|writer}}

| years_active = 1950–1974

| notable_works =

| partner = Mark Miller (1947–2002; Nader's death)

| awards =

| relatives = Michael Nader (nephew)

}}

George Garfield Nader, Jr. (October 19, 1921 – February 4, 2002) was an American actor and writer.{{cite news |last1=Hayward|first1=Anthony|title=Michael Nader Obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/sep/09/michael-nader-obituary|newspaper=The Guardian|date=September 9, 2021}} He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, mainly action and adventure film roles.{{Cite news |last=Bergan |first=Ronald |date=February 8, 2002 |title=George Nader |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/feb/08/guardianobituaries.filmnews |access-date=December 10, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} He won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor for the film Four Guns to the Border (1954).

During this period, he also did episodic television and starred in several series, including NBC's The Man and the Challenge (1959–60). In the 1960s he made several films in West Germany, playing FBI agent Jerry Cotton. He is also remembered for his first starring role, in the low-budget 3-D sci-fi film Robot Monster (1953), known as "one of the worst films ever made".{{cite news |last1=Bergan |first1=Ronald |title=Obituary: George Nader |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/feb/08/guardianobituaries.filmnews |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=February 8, 2002}}

Discreetly gay during his acting career, he and his life partner Mark Miller were among Rock Hudson's closest friends. After retiring from acting, he wrote Chrome (1978), a science-fiction novel dealing positively with a same-sex relationship.{{cite news |title=Obituaries: George Nader |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/george-nader-9234230.html |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=February 8, 2002}}

Early life

Nader was born in Pasadena, California, the son of Alice (née Scott), who was from Kansas, and George Garfield Nader, who was from Illinois.{{cite news| url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/2063260772.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+05%2C+1956&author=&pub=Daily+Boston+Globe+(1928-1960)&desc=George+Nader+of+Movies+Not+Single+by+Choice&pqatl=google| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131160446/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/2063260772.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+05,+1956&author=&pub=Daily+Boston+Globe+(1928-1960)&desc=George+Nader+of+Movies+Not+Single+by+Choice&pqatl=google| url-status=dead| archive-date=January 31, 2013| newspaper=Daily Boston Globe| first=Sheilah| last=Graham| title=George Nader of Movies Not Single by Choice| date=August 5, 1956}}{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/432958328/?terms=george%20nader&match=1| newspaper=The Boston Globe| title=Is George Nader his real name?| date=March 12, 1957| access-date=January 22, 2021| url-access=subscription}} His father was of Lebanese descent. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in theater arts at Occidental College.

During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy as a communications officer in the Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1946.

Early career

Nader began his acting career in 1950. He appeared in several productions at the Pasadena Playhouse over four years, which led to a number of bit parts in films.{{cite journal| title=The Life Story of George Nader| journal=Picture Show| location=London| volume=64| issue=1657| date=January 1, 1955| page=12}} He was in Rustlers on Horseback (1950) for Republic Pictures{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article97540449 |title=Film News |newspaper=The Western Star |issue=87 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=March 13, 1951 |access-date=October 13, 2017 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}} while also appearing on stage in Summer and Smoke at the Pasadena Playhouse.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article99741049 |title=Hollywood Notes |newspaper=The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder |volume=40 |issue=4002 |date=January 23, 1951 |access-date=October 13, 2017 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}

He had small parts in You're in the Navy Now (1951), The Prowler (1951), Take Care of My Little Girl (1951), The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), and Two Tickets to Broadway (1951). He had a bigger part in a Tim Holt Western, Overland Telegraph (1951), and a drama, Monsoon (1952). He was going to star in a film called GI Smith, but production was canceled.{{cite news| title=Drama: 'G.I. Smith' Will Star George Nader; Reinhardt to Direct Pier Angeli| last=Schallert| first=Edwin| date=November 2, 1951| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380961201/?terms=Drama%3A%20%27G.I.%20Smith%27%20Will%20Star%20George%20Nader%3B%20Reinhardt%20to%20Direct%20Pier%20Angeli&match=1| page=B9| url-access=subscription}} He had unbilled bit roles in the studio films Phone Call from a Stranger (1951) and Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1952).

Leading man

Nader's first starring role was in Robot Monster (1953), a 3-D feature film directed by Phil Tucker. Although the film is remembered primarily for its "camp" attributes as "one of the worst films ever made," it was financially successful{{cite news |last1=Woo |first1=Elaine |title=George Nader, 80; Star of '50s Movies |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-feb-06-me-nader6-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=February 6, 2002 |url-access=subscription}} and led to more prominent roles for Nader in other films. He supported Paulette Goddard in Sins of Jezebel (1953) and had a supporting role in Carnival Story (1954). He was the male love interest for Miss Robin Crusoe (1954) at Fox.

Meanwhile, Nader appeared regularly on TV shows such as Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Letter to Loretta, Cavalcade of America, Lux Video Theatre, and The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse.

Universal Pictures

He made a number of films for Universal Studios, alongside leading men such as Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and Jeff Chandler.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}} His first film for Universal was a Western, Four Guns to the Border (1954), wherein he was billed beneath Rory Calhoun and Colleen Miller. He followed it with Six Bridges to Cross (1955), supporting Tony Curtis and Julie Adams in a role that Chandler had refused.

Nader was promoted to lead in The Second Greatest Sex (1955) opposite Jeanne Crain and in Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) opposite Maureen O'Hara, stepping in for Chandler again. In 1955, he won a Golden Globe Award for "Most Promising Newcomer".

He starred opposite Virginia Mayo in Congo Crossing (1956) and was second-billed to Chandler in Universal's expensive war epic Away All Boats (1956).{{cite news| title=George, Jeff Land in Same Boat| first=Louella| last=Parsons| date=March 24, 1955| newspaper=The Washington Post and Times-Herald| page=66}} He was Esther Williams's leading man in The Unguarded Moment (1956), which starred a young John Saxon. He had top billing in Four Girls in Town (1957) and Man Afraid (1957). Nader supported Audie Murphy in Joe Butterfly (1957), a military comedy.{{cite news| title=Bachelor George Nader Bored by Going Out 'Just to Be Seen'| last=Hopper| first=Hedda| date=June 23, 1957| work=Los Angeles Times| page=E3}} He had the lead in Appointment with a Shadow (1958) and Flood Tide (1958). He was Hedy Lamarr's love interest in The Female Animal (1958), replacing John Gavin.{{cite news| title=UNIVERSAL CASTS TWO IN NEW FILM: Jane Powell, George Nader to Appear in 'Female Animal' --Actor Replaces Gavin| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/17/archives/universal-casts-two-in-new-film-jane-powell-george-nader-to-appear.html| first=Thomas M.| last=Pryor| date=May 17, 1957| newspaper=The New York Times| page=19| url-access=subscription}} He had the starring role in Nowhere to Go, a 1958 British crime drama featuring the screen debut of Maggie Smith.

Television

Nader moved into regular television roles in the late 1950s, appearing in several short-lived series, including The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (1959) and The Man and the Challenge (1959–60). In 1961, he appeared in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Self Defense," with Audrey Totter; the following year, he returned for the "Where Beauty Lies" episode opposite Cloris Leachman. In the 1961–62 season, he appeared as insurance investigator Joe Shannon in the syndicated crime drama Shannon, co-starring with Regis Toomey.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43598149 |title=DID YOU KNOW? |newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly |volume=30 |issue=4 |date=June 27, 1962 |access-date=October 13, 2017 |page=9 (Teenagers' Weekly) |via=National Library of Australia}}

Nader appeared frequently on The Loretta Young Show, a dramatic anthology series on NBC.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

He produced and directed Walk by the Sea (1963).{{cite news| title=George Nader; Actor-writer| url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/people-news/george-nader-1117860194/| last=Galloway| first=Doug| newspaper=Variety| date=February 4, 2002| page=70}}

International

Nader had the title role in a European swashbuckler, The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan (1963). He made Zigzag (1963) and The Great Space Adventure (1964) for Albert Zugsmith; both films were made in the Philippines. He starred in The Human Duplicators (1965) and regularly guest-starred on TV shows.

Nader went to Germany to star as FBI agent Jerry Cotton in the German film Tread Softly (1965). It was a hit and led to a series of films: Manhattan Night of Murder (1965), Tip Not Included (1966), The Trap Snaps Shut at Midnight (1966), Murderers Club of Brooklyn (1967), Death in the Red Jaguar (1968), Death and Diamonds (1968), and Dead Body on Broadway (1969).

He appeared in two Harry Alan Towers productions, The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967) shot in Hong Kong and The House of 1,000 Dolls (1967) filmed in Spain. One of his last films was Beyond Atlantis (1973), made in the Philippines.

Writing

In the 1970s, Nader suffered an eye injury in an automobile accident, which made him particularly sensitive to the bright lights of movie sets and forced him to retire from acting. He began writing, including his 1978 science fiction novel Chrome, which was about a forbidden gay romance between a man and an android.{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE4D8113CF931A25751C0A9649C8B63| title=George Nader, 80, Actor and Sci-Fi Writer| date=February 12, 2002| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=July 6, 2008| url-access=subscription}}{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|436637312}} |last1=Smyth |first1=Mitchell |title=Rock left actor millions |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=May 10, 1992 |page=D5}}

According to Variety's Army Archerd, Nader had completed a book called The Perils of Paul (the title being a play on the melodrama serial The Perils of Pauline) about the gay community in Hollywood, which he did not want published until after his death.{{cite magazine| url=https://variety.com/2002/film/columns/nader-s-death-another-sad-finale-to-a-glamorous-h-w-d-life-1117860239/| title=Nader's death another sad finale to a glamorous H'w'd life| last=Archerd|first=Army| date=February 4, 2002| magazine=Variety| access-date=July 6, 2008}}

Personal life

File:George Nader Joan Crawford 1954.JPG (1954) ]]

Although Nader was not openly gay during his film career, he generally did not feign relationships with women to conceal it, instead deflecting questions by saying that he had not met "the right one".

Nader lived with his life partner, Mark Miller (November 22, 1926 – June 9, 2015), whom he met in 1947 while they were acting in a play together.{{cite web| url=http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/georgenader.html| title=George Nader (1921-2002)| date=October 19, 2020| website=Brian's Drive-In Theater| access-date=January 22, 2021}}

Miller worked as Rock Hudson's personal secretary from 1972 until the star's death, and the couple inherited the interest from Hudson's $27 million estate after his death from AIDS complications in 1985. Hudson biographer Sara Davidson described Nader, Miller, and another person as "Rock's family for most of his adult life". Nader publicly acknowledged his sexual orientation shortly afterward.

Nader and Miller eventually settled in Palm Springs.

= Death =

Stricken by multiple medical problems, Nader entered the hospital in September 2001. He died on February 4, 2002, in Woodland Hills, California, of cardiopulmonary failure, pneumonia, and multiple cerebral infarctions. He was survived by Miller (with whom he had spent 55 years), his cousins Sally Kubly and Roberta Cavell, and his nephew, actor Michael Nader. His ashes were scattered at sea; a cenotaph in his honor, together with Mark Miller and Rock Hudson, exists in Cathedral City's Forest Lawn Cemetery.Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 34104-34105). McFarland & Co. Kindle Edition. In 2002, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.{{cite web| url=http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013165655/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |title=Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated |access-date=March 27, 2013}}

Filmography

= Film =

class="wikitable"

style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1950

|Rustlers on Horseback

|Jack Reynolds

|Credited as George Nadar

rowspan="6" |1951

|You're in the Navy Now

|Crew member

| rowspan="5" |Uncredited

The Prowler

|Photographer

Take Care of My Little Girl

|Jack Gruber

The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel

|Commando

Two Tickets to Broadway

|Charlie

Overland Telegraph

|Paul Manning

rowspan="3" |1952

|Phone Call from a Stranger

|Pilot

|Uncredited

Monsoon

|Burton

Han glömde henne aldrig

|Chris Kingsley (voice)

|English dub, dubbed Sven Lindberg

rowspan="3" |1953

|Down Among the Sheltering Palms

|Lt. Homer Briggs

|Uncredited

Robot Monster

|Roy

Sins of Jezebel

|Jehu

rowspan="3" |1954

|Carnival Story

|Bill Vines

Four Guns to the Border

|Bronco

Miss Robin Crusoe

|Jonathan

rowspan="3" |1955

|Six Bridges to Cross

|Edward Gallagher

The Second Greatest Sex

|Matt Davis

Lady Godiva of Coventry

|Lord Leofric

rowspan="3" |1956

|Congo Crossing

|David Carr

Away All Boats

|Lieutenant Dave MacDougall

The Unguarded Moment

|Lieutenant Harry Graham

rowspan="5" |1957

|Four Girls in Town

|Mike Snowden

Man Afraid

|Reverend David Collins

Joe Butterfly

|Sergeant Ed Kennedy

Appointment with a Shadow

|Paul Baxter

Flood Tide

|Steve Martin

rowspan="2" |1958

|The Female Animal

|Chris Farley

Nowhere to Go

|Paul Gregory

1962

|The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan

|d'Artagnan

rowspan="3" |1963

|Zigzag

|The Hunter

The Great Space Adventure

A Walk by the Sea

rowspan="4" |1965

|The Human Duplicators

|Glenn Martin

Schüsse aus dem Geigengasten

|Jerry Cotton

Espionage in Lisbon

|Drunk entering hotel room

|Uncredited cameo

Manhattan Night of Murder

| rowspan="4" |Jerry Cotton

rowspan="2" |1966

|The Trap Snaps Shut at Midnight

Die Rechnung – eiskalt serviert

rowspan="3" |1967

|Der Mörderclub von Brooklyn

The Million Eyes of Sumuru

|Agent Nick West

The House of 1,000 Dolls

|Stephen Armstrong

rowspan="3" |1968

|Dynamit in grüner Seide

|Jerry Cotton

Radhapura – Endstation der Verdammten

|Steve Weston

Tod im Roten Jaguar

| rowspan="2" |Jerry Cotton

1969

|Todesschüsse am Broadway

1973

|Beyond Atlantis

|Nereus

= Television =

class="wikitable"

style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1950–1953

|Fireside Theater

|George
Mick
Charlie
Bob
Web Martin

|Season 2 Episode 18: "The Golden Ball/Just Three Words" (1950) as George

Season 5 Episode 17: "The Lady Wears a Star" (1953) as Mick

Season 5 Episode 20: "Boundary Line" (1953) as Charlie

Season 6 Episode 6: "Refuge" (1953) as Bob

Season 6 Episode 12: "Appointment with Death" (1953) as Web Martin

rowspan="2" |1952

|Gruen Guild Playhouse

|1 episode

Big Town

|Season 2 Episode 38: "Baby Sitter"

rowspan="4" |1953

|Your Jeweler's Showcase

|Season 1 Episode 18: "Heart's Desire"

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

|Richard MacLeod

|Season 2 Episode 44: "Richard and the Lion"

Your Play Time

|TV, 1 episode

Hallmark Hall of Fame

|Joseph McCoy

|(TV movie) "McCoy of Abilene"

1953–1961

|The Loretta Young Show

|(1) Keith Warren
(2) Arthur Wayne
(3) Steve Baxter
(4) Newton Ralston
(5) Robert Schumann
(6) Charles Diebold
(7) Barry Kendall
(8) Austin Granger

|Season 1 Episode 1: "Trial Run" (1953) as (1)

Season 1 Episode 2: "The Mirror" (1953) as (2)

Season 1 Episode 8: "Kid Stuff" (1953) as (3)

Season 1 Episode 15: "Hotel Irritant" (1953) as (4)

Season 1 Episode 26: "The Clara Schumann Story" (1954) as (5)

Season 1 Episode 31: "The Enchanted Schoolteacher" (1954) as (6)

Season 1 Episode 33: "Oh, My Aching Heart" (1954) as (7)

Season 8 Episode 20: "The Choice" (1961) as (8)

rowspan="2" |1954

|The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse

|Bill Ferris

|Season 1 Episode 16: "Account Closed" as Bill Ferris

Season 1 Episode 22: "His Brother's Girl"

Cavalcade of America

|Eliphalet Remington II

|Season 2 Episode 30: "Midnight School"

Season 3 Episode 3: "The Forge" as Eliphalet Remington II

1954–1957

|Lux Video Theatre

|Jeremy
Don
Dr. Frank Matson

|Season 5 Episode 9: "An Angel Went AWOL" (1954) as Jeremy

Season 7 Episode 9: "The Glass Web" (1956) as Don

Season 7 Episode 22: "One Way Street" (1957) as Dr. Frank Matson

1957

|Climax!

|Harry Parker

|Season 3 Episode 41: "The Stranger Within"

1959

|The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen

|Ellery Queen

|TV, 25 episodes

1959–1960

|The Man and the Challenge

|Dr. Glenn Barton

|TV, 36 episodes

1960

|Laramie

|Wells Clark

|Season 2 Episode 8: ".45 Caliber"

rowspan="3" |1961

|The Andy Griffith Show

|Dr. Robert Benson

|Season 1 Episode 24: "The New Doctor"

Shannon

|Joe Shannon

|TV, 36 episodes

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

|Gerald R. Clarke

|Season 6 Episode 32: "Self Defense"

1962

|Alfred Hitchcock Presents

|Collin Hardy

|Season 7 Episode 38: "Where Beauty Lies"

1965

|Burke's Law

|Chris Maitland

|Season 2 Episode 30: "Who Killed the Jackpot"

rowspan="2" |1972

|Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

|Season 1 Episode 15: "Warlock at Mach 3"

The F.B.I.

|Season 8 Episode 8: "A Game of Chess"

1974

|Nakia

|McMasters

|TV movie, (final film role)

References

External links

{{AFI person | 59114-George-Nader }}
{{IMDb name | 618865 }}
{{Tcmdb name}}
[http://www.mst3kinfo.com/rolodex/Nader.html George Nader at Mystery Science Theater 3000]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060904041023/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/nader_g.html George Nader] on glbtq.com
{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815022247/http://strangewords.com/archive/chrome.html|date=August 15, 2007|title=A review of Nader's novel Chrome}}

Category:1921 births

Category:2002 deaths

Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:20th-century American novelists

Category:American gay actors

Category:American LGBTQ military personnel

Category:American LGBTQ novelists

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male novelists

Category:American male television actors