---
name: "Ralph Nelson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ralph-nelson"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "12 August 1916"
died: "21 December 1987"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T15:40:45.095165+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ralph Nelson

Director. Born 12 August 1916 in New York City, New York. Died 21 December 1987.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 12 August 1916, New York City, New York
- **Died:** 21 December 1987

## Biography

Ralph Nelson (1916–1987) was an American film and television director, producer, writer and actor. He began his career on the stage as an actor and stage manager, appeared on Broadway, and served as a flight instructor in the US Army Air Corps during the Second World War before moving into live television in the late 1940s.

Nelson directed hundreds of television productions during the Golden Age, including the acclaimed Playhouse 90 adaptation of Rod Serling’s Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956), for which he won an Emmy Award. He also directed the Twilight Zone episode 'A World of His Own' (1960). His feature films include Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), Lilies of the Field (1963), Father Goose (1964), Duel at Diablo (1966), Charly (1968) and Soldier Blue (1970).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, britannica.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Twilight Zone* (1959), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md)

## Also known for

- *Lilies of the Field* (1963), Director
- *Soldier Blue* (1970), Director
- *Father Goose* (1964), Director
- *Charly* (1968), Director
- *Duel at Diablo* (1966), Director
- *Requiem for a Heavyweight* (1962), Director
- *The Wilby Conspiracy* (1975), Director
- *Fate Is the Hunter* (1964), Director

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ralph-nelson