Ozzie and Harriet’s double bed was the first to be seen on television. During those times, it was very scandalous for a man and his wife to be sleeping in the same bed. Before their double bed debut, on-screen couples’ bedrooms on TV usually had two twin beds that were separated by a nightstand. The Hays Code was the unofficial name for The Motion Picture Production Code. The code was adopted in 1930 but not seriously put into action until 1934.
The Code was a set of rules governing American filmmaking that cultivated and in many ways limited American cinema for more than three decades. The code regulated what could and couldn’t be shown in films. Among their rules and regulations was that a man and a woman couldn’t be seen in the same bed together. If they were, one of them had to be seen with a leg firmly planted on the floor. Bonus fact, this rule led to the popularity of foot popping.
Did Ozzie Sabotage His Kids' Childhood?
In the book "The Fifties," David Halberstam shares his thoughts on the impact that the show had on the growing Nelson boys. The boys lived under a lot of pressure from their father. He blames Ozzie Nelson for robbing the boys of their childhood and essentially using them for commercial purposes. For the sake of money, he took some of their most private and personal moments and made them public.
Halberstam claims that through the research he had done, there was a general agreement that people blamed Ozzie Nelson for taking his family’s most personal moments and making them public. In many ways, the Nelsons were America's first relationship with reality TV. Yes, the Kardashians definitely weren’t the first reality TV family in America.
"Here Come the Nelsons"
After having such success with their radio show, Ozzie and his brother Don wrote a comedy movie together called "Here Come the Nelsons." The movie introduced the Nelsons to American audiences. Ozzie successfully persuaded Universal execs to produce the feature film and it also became a pilot for the TV show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."
The film featured, of course, the Nelson family as well as a slew of other big stars like Rock Hudson, Barbara Lawrence, and Jim Backus. The storyline of the movie is as such; Ozzie and Harriet get into a misunderstanding before Ricky is kidnapped by bank robbers. In the film, Ozzie played an advertising executive, although he was known in America to be a bandleader.
The Show Featured Their Real-life House
Ozzie and Harriet used the exterior of their actual home in the opening credits of their TV series. The Nelsons, at this point, had amassed quite the fortune for themselves. They lived in the luxurious Hollywood Hills neighborhood located above Hollywood Boulevard.
They didn't film the series in their actual home due to logistical reasons. But they did have the interior of their home exactly replicated for the set. It was important for Ozzie to relay authenticity as much as possible in his show. Quite literally, he wanted to invite America into his home to meet his family. The Nelson's home is still in the same location, located at 1822 Camino Palmero Street in Los Angeles, California.
The House Was Renovated and Sold in 2013
In 2013, the Nelson's five-bedroom home was bought for $3 million. The home, which was built in 1916, was sold nearly 100 years later to a real estate investment and development company. They gave the family home a much-needed makeover and resold it for $5 million. Must of the home's exterior was kept the same.
The shutters were removed in order to give the house a more modern look. The home is in a very prime location in Hollywood. This definitely won't be the last time that this kind of renovation happens here. Keep reading to see how Mr. Nelson was different from his on-screen character... and we don't mean that in a positive way.