I come from New York originally, but Californians have been wonderful about animals. These animals are so nice and so good and so sweet and intelligent. It's a crime not to help them.

Nels is named for the character Dick played on the CBS TV series Mama. He moved on to television and movies with the role of Nels Hansen in the 1949 TV series I Remember Mama which ran from 1949 to 1957 and as patriarch Tom Bradford on Eight is Enough 1977 to 1981. He has been married to Patricia Poole (aka Pat Van Patten) since 1954.

Later he would star or co-star in many feature films including Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights Charlton Heston's Soylent Green and the Academy Award winning Charly. He later starred in numerous television roles including the long running CBS television series I Remember Mama and Young Dr. He began work as a child actor and was successful on the New York stage appearing in more than a dozen plays as a teenager.