George Nader at Brian's Drive-In Theater

biography

Born in Pasadena, California, on October 19, 1921, actor George Nader graduated from Occidental College with a B.A. in theater arts before joining the Navy during World War II. Upon returning home after the war, Nader acted in stage plays in southern California. By 1950, he started getting small, uncredited roles in films and also acted in early television. His handsome visage was his ticket to a Universal-International contract by the mid 1950s, where he made a number of films. However, his first starring role came in the form of the independent 1953 flick Robot Monster, a 3-D feature directed by Phil Tucker. Robot Monster features George Barrows as the monster, wearing a monkey suit with a diving bell. Tucker's opus was produced for $16,000 (fantastically cheap even in 1953) and was shot entirely outdoors in four days in Bronson Canyon, east of Los Angeles. Although heralded as one of the worst films of all time, it was the first science fiction film released with stereophonic sound. During its initial run, Robot Monster made more than $1 million, mostly due to the novelty of the 3-D process.

George Nader was a frequent subject of beefcake photographers in the 1950s. At 6'1" and 180 lbs., Nader stayed in shape by lifting weights and swimming

Nader made a few more film appearances in low-budget films, including Sins of Jezebel (1953; with Paulette Goddard and John Hoyt) and the campy adventure Miss Robin Crusoe (1953; with Amanda Blake), before signing a contract with Universal-International in 1954. His first film for the studio was the western Four Guns to the Border (1954; with Rory Calhoun and Colleen Miller). Nader won a 1955 Golden Globe award for "Most Promising Newcomer." However, with the death of the studio system in the late 1950s, Nader's contract with Universal-International lapsed following the release of Flood Tide (1958; with Cornell Borchers and Joanna Moore).

By the late 1950s, he took on a few television series: The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (syndicated, 1958-1959), The Man and the Challenge (NBC, 1959-1960), and Shannon (syndicated, 1961-1962). Unfortunately, none of them lasted beyond a season. He made a few more low-budget films, including The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan (1962) and The Human Duplicators (1965; with Barbara Nichols, Hugh Beamont, and Richard Kiel) before going to Germany to star as FBI agent Jerry Cotton in a string of Eurospy thrillers. He stayed in Europe through the late 1960s, working in such films as The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967; with Shirley Eaton and Frankie Avalon) and House of 1,000 Dolls (1967; with Vincent Price and Martha Hyer). These movies proved highly popular in Europe and other markets and somewhat revived Nader's acting career.

the films of george nader

Robot Monster (1953)

George Nader, Claudia Barrett, and John Mylong

LEFT: With Claudia Barret and John Mylong. RIGHT: Nader and Claudia Barrett are menaced by Ro-man

Four Guns to the Border (1954)

From the western Four Guns to the Border with Colleen Miller

Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955)

Rhodes Reason, George Nader and Maureen O'Hara

From Universal-International's hisorical drama Lady Godiva of Coventry. LEFT: Studio still. CENTER: With Maureen O'Hara. RIGHT: With Rhodes Reason and Maureen O'Hara

Four Girls in Town (1956)

With Julie Adams in Four Girls in Town

The Second Greatest Sex (1956)

Universal still from the musical The Second Greatest Sex

Congo Crossing (1956)

Virginia Mayo, Peter Lorre, and George Nader

LEFT: With Virginia Mayo in the Universal-International adventure Congo Crossing. RIGHT: With Virginia Mayo and Peter Lorre

The Female Animal (1957)

Jane Powell puts the moves on George Nader in The Female Animal. This feature pits an aging star (Hedy Lamarr in her last film role) against her alcoholic daughter (Jane Powell) for the affections of a movie bit player (Nader). Nader has affairs with both the mother and daughter, and in the end, flees to Mexico to make a bad horror film, just to escape the mess. This film features one of George Nader's strongest performances

Flood Tide (1958)

With Cornell Borchers in the Universal-International drama Flood Tide

Nowhere to Go (1958)

With Maggie Smith in the British-made thriller Nowhere to Go, released by MGM

House of 1000 Dolls (1967)

Nader tries to unravel the mystery of Vincent Price's House of 1000 Dolls

The Million Eyes of Su-Muru (1967)

LEFT and CENTER: With Shirley Eaton in the AIP spy caper The Million Eyes of Su-Muru. RIGHT: With Frankie Avalon

Beyond Atlantis (1973)

As Nereus in the low-budget fantasy Beyond Atlantis

later years

Nader and Rock Hudson have fun on the water in the late 1950s. The two actors met in the early 1950s and were lifelong friends

Nader went to Europe in 1965 and made a string of eight German-made Jerry Cotton crime films which proved very popular with European audiences. The first film in the series was The Violin Case Murders (1965), with Nader as Jerry Cotton. Folliwng the final film in the series, Broadway's Deadly Gold, aka Dead Body on Broadway (1969), Nader worked very little as an actor.

George Nader in 1978, upon the publication of Chrome

In the mid 1970s, a serious automobile accident left George Nader with an eye injury that permanently sidelined his acting career; he could no longer tolerate the bright lights required in film production. Nader then focused his efforts on writing science fiction, at which he was successful. His best-known work is the gay-themed groundbreaking science fiction novel Chrome (1978). After Nader's retirement, he divided his time between Palm Springs and Hawaii, spending time with his longtime partner, Mark Miller. Nader and Miller became a couple in 1947, after meeting while acting in a play together. With Nader's star rising, Miller supported the couple by working odd jobs and eventually became Rock Hudson's personal secretary, a position he maintained from 1972 until Hudson's death in 1985. Following Hudson's death and the protracted probate of his will, Nader and Miller inherited Hudson's remaining estate in the early 1990s. Sadly, George Nader passed away on February 4, 2002, at the age of 80. He was survived by his partner, Mark Miller, and his nephew, actor Michael Nader.