How Ricky Nelson’s last-minute choice saved his twin sons before his fatal plane crash
For years, admirers loved Ricky Nelson as a teenage pop sensation, and he became one of the most frequently televised musical performers of his generation. Many people have heard about the unexplained details surrounding his death. Far fewer know that a decision made at the final moment kept his two young sons alive.
Born Eric Hilliard Nelson in Teaneck, New Jersey, on May 8, 1940, Ricky was the son of Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard Nelson. His parents became famous through their successful sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
As a boy, Ricky was quiet, small, and severely asthmatic. At night, he often relied on a vaporizer containing evergreen tincture so he could sleep. John Guedel, producer for Red Skelton, remembered him as an unusual but likable child—private, thoughtful, mysterious, and difficult to understand.
After Skelton entered military service in 1944, Guedel developed the radio comedy The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet for Ricky’s parents. It made its debut on Sunday, October 8, 1944, and received favorable reviews.
The Nelson family’s comedy remained on the air for sixteen years, establishing a sitcom record. Ricky and his older brother David eventually joined their parents on the program when the boys were roughly 8 and 10 years old.
During those years, Ricky studied at Gardner Street Public School and later attended Hollywood High School. He had little enthusiasm for education, creating tension with his father, who hoped he would continue to college.
By the time Ricky was nearing college age, however, he already earned more than many established adults. His annual income had reached about $100,000, making a conventional college path seem unnecessary.
At 17, Ricky appeared in the family show’s episode titled “Ricky, the Drummer.” The number he performed was recorded and issued as his first single, “I’m Walking.” It rapidly climbed to number 4 on Billboard’s Best Sellers chart.
His fame accelerated. The television series gave him a place to introduce new music before the songs were released publicly as singles. His successes included “Garden Party” and “It’s Late,” along with “Fools Rush In,” “For You,” “Poor Little Fool,” and “Travelin’ Man.”
Around 1961, Ricky began seeing Kristin Harmon. She had also grown up in Hollywood, and the Harmon and Nelson families had long been close.
Ricky and Kristin married in April 1963. They became parents to four children: Sam Hilliard Nelson; twin sons Matthew Gray Nelson and Gunnar Eric Nelson; and daughter Tracy Kristine Nelson, who became an actress.
Ricky’s celebrity continued expanding throughout the 1960s as he repeatedly placed songs in the Top 40. His rock-and-roll career took him on numerous tours over the years. Tragically, one of those trips ultimately led to his premature and still-mysterious death.
Although his work demanded constant travel for performances and promotion, Ricky reportedly despised flying. He even sought psychotherapy in an attempt to become more comfortable aboard airplanes so that he could continue his career and keep meeting his fans.
Ricky was initially expected to travel with Matthew and Gunnar to Dallas, where he was booked for a New Year’s performance. Gunnar later recalled that the twins were meant to join their father in Alabama and fly with him to the show.
Only days before the planned departure, Ricky experienced what seemed like a troubling instinct or premonition. He called his sons and told them that they would not be traveling together. The aircraft assigned to the trip had reportedly experienced engine difficulties a few days earlier as well.
Gunnar Nelson, Rick Nelson, Tracy Nelson, Kristin Nelson, and Matthew Nelson were photographed together in Los Angeles in 1968.
Ricky boarded the DC-3 in Alabama without the twins. As the aircraft approached its destination, smoke began spreading through the cabin. The fire killed Ricky and the other passengers, although the pilot succeeded in bringing the plane down safely in Texas.
Even thirty years afterward, investigators had not produced a definitive explanation for the fire. Speculation about its origin included sensational allegations that Ricky had been using cocaine with Helen Blaine, his girlfriend at the time.
Ricky’s brother David forcefully rejected that story, insisting that Ricky never took cocaine. His manager, Greg McDonald, also later said that Ricky and Helen were asleep inside the cabin when the blaze began.
Tracy Nelson eventually told Larry King that she believed a mechanical failure had caused the disaster.
Tracy explained that the slow-moving aircraft was nicknamed the “Flying Bus.” It had a history of trouble involving its gasoline heater, she said, and that defect could easily have started an accidental fire.
Although the precise cause was still unknown thirty years later, Ricky Nelson’s last-minute warning undeniably prevented an even greater tragedy within his family. Matthew and Gunnar later built a successful musical career as a duo while honoring their father’s memory.
Matthew said their continuing work is an act of love—an open letter to the father who had also been their closest friend.
Ricky Nelson Remembered, starring twin sons Gunnar Nelson and Matthew Nelson, appeared at City Winery Nashville on July 30, 2017, in Nashville, Tennessee.
May Ricky rest in peace. Share what you think about the instinctive decision that saved his sons in the comments.
