Nick Adams

:Nick Adams was also the name of a Hemingway protagonist.

Hollywood career

While trying to get a role in the play Mister Roberts in New York he had a brief encounter with Henry Fonda, who advised him to get some training as an actor. Eventually hitchhiking to Los Angeles he worked at various jobs (and was reportedly fired from one as a theater usher after putting his name on display as a publicity stunt). After serving in the US Coast Guard, following much persistence and creativity Adams appeared in the 1955 film version of Mister Roberts. In Rebel Without a Cause (1955), starring James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo, Adams had a supporting role, reportedly gaining a reputation as both a prankster and a scene-stealer on the set. Following the death of James Dean, Adams became one of the actors used to promote the film for the studio and for a time dated co-star Natalie Wood.

Related Topics:
Mister Roberts - New York - Henry Fonda - Coast Guard - Rebel Without a Cause - Natalie Wood - Sal Mineo

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Adams made another appearance in the widely popular film adaptation of Picnic (1955) which was mostly filmed on location in Kansas. He was not perceived by casting directors as tall or handsome enough for leading roles but during the late 1950s he had supporting roles in several successful films.

Related Topics:
Picnic - Kansas

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Nick Adams' friendship with Elvis Presley, widely publicized at the time, began in 1956. In her 1985 book "Elvis and Gladys" Elaine Dundy wrote that when Presley arrived in Hollywood to make his first film in 1956 he was encouraged by studio executives to be seen with some of the "hip" new young actors there. However, Colonel Tom Parker became concerned Elvis' new Hollywood acquaintances might influence his rising superstar and even tell Presley what they were paying for manager/agent's fees (which was usually a fraction of what Parker was getting). Dundy wrote (on p. 250) that one of the actors Presley became friends with was Nick Adams who in the author's words was a:

Related Topics:
Elvis Presley - 1985 - Elvis and Gladys - Elaine Dundy - Colonel Tom Parker

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: ...brash struggling young actor whose main scheme to further his career was to hitch his wagon to a star, the first being James Dean, about whose friendship he was noisily boastful... this made it easy for Parker to suggest that Nick be invited to join Elvis' growing entourage of paid companions, and for Nick to accept... following Adams' hiring, there appeared a newspaper item stating that Nick and Parker were writing a book on Elvis together.

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Dundy called Colonel Parker a master manipulator who used Nick Adams and others in the entourage (including Parker's own brother-in-law Bitsy Mott) to counter possible subversion against him and keep a check on Elvis' movements.

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In 1959, Nick Adams starred in the television series The Rebel, playing the character Johnny Yuma, an ex-confederate, journal-keeping "trouble-shooter" in the old American west, which ran on ABC. Along with Bruce Geller and others Adams also wrote scripts for the show. After the series was cancelled in 1961 Adams went back to film work, along with a role in the short-lived television series Saints and Sinners.

Related Topics:
Television series - ABC - Bruce Geller - Saints and Sinners

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He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film Twilight of Honor (1963). He campaigned heavily for the award, spending over $8,000 on ads in trade magazines but many of his strongest scenes had been cut from the movie and he lost to Melvyn Douglas.

Related Topics:
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Twilight of Honor - Melvyn Douglas

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By 1964 his career seems to have stalled. He had high hopes his performance in Young Dillinger (with Robert Conrad) would be critically acclaimed but the project had low production values and both critics and audiences rejected the film. Adams took bit parts in various low budget Japanese science-fiction movies (including a role as "astronaut Glenn" in 1965's Monster Zero) but these were not commercial or critical successes.

Related Topics:
Young Dillinger - Robert Conrad

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