Nelson Olmsted, was an actor in films, recordings, radio and television from the 1950s to the 1970s. Sometimes billed as Nelson Olmstead, he was best known for an unusual NBC radio series, Sleep No More, in which he narrated his own adaptations of terror tales and science-fantasy stories. Ben Grauer was the program's announcer. After study at the University of Texas, Olmsted began in radio in the late 1930s as an announcer for WBAP in Fort Worth, Texas. When he launched Black Night, a late night 30-minute horror series, it was only a local program, but it created a sensation, with mail arriving at WBAP from ten states. A review in Radio News took note of the chilling music and horrific sound effects. Produced by Ken Douglass, the series began November 5, 1937, with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and then continued on with original scripts by Virginia Wiltten. Olmsted starred and was heard in a variety of different roles. Within a year, the impact of Black Night catapulted Olmsted to New York, where he was immediately established as NBC's resident storyteller, a position he held for over a decade, beginning with The World's GreatestShort Stories and Dramas by Olmsted. Today, Olmsted is best remembered for his spoken word recordings released by the Vanguard Recording Society. One of these was the LP version of Sleep No More! The album's back cover featured a box in which Olmsted delivered a capsule summary of his life:
Television and films
Olmsted's appearances during the era of live television began in 1950 with The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre and Lights Out, followed by Schlitz Playhouse of Stars. The Philco Television Playhouse, Kraft Television Theatre, Tales of Tomorrow, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Robert Montgomery Presents, Studio One and NBC Sunday Showcase. Olmsted was also featured on "The Ohio Story", a series of 10-minute history/biography television programs on stations all over Ohio in the 1950s. He made guest appearances on the CBS court drama seriesPerry Mason, including the role of murderer Arthur Colemar in the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee." He continued in television until the mid-1970s. His film roles included Middle of the Night, That Touch of Mink, Diary of a Madman, Fitzwilly and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. His last movie was Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell.
