With MGM, Nelson made his screen debut in the role as Paul Clark in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Donna Reed. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1941, where he performed as an actor in student theatre productions. His year of birth has been subject to some debate, but is listed as 1917 on both his 1943 Army Air Forces enlistment record and his 1993 voter registration records. Nelson was born in San Francisco, the son of Norwegian immigrants, Betsy (née Christophersen) and Trygve Nielsen.
Barry Nelson (born Robert Haakon Nielsen Ap– April 7, 2007) was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.
