“George Nader. That’s Ralph Nader’s naughty brother.” “Oh George Nader, he’s untalented at any speed.” “Well, you know they had seatbelts on that boat.” “Second billing, third party.” Serving as a Communications Officer in the US Navy from 1943 to 1946, George gathered a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Occidental College. Entering acting in 1950, hopping around first at the Pasadena Playhouse then appearing in You’re in the Navy Now (1951), The Prowler (1951), Take Care of My Little Girl (1951), The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), and Two Tickets to Broadway. People paid attention. And his screen time grew. Overland Telegraph (1951), Monsoon (1952), his first starring role in Robot Monster (1953), Sins of Jezebel (1953) with Paulette Goddard, Carnival Story (1954), Miss Robin Crusoe (1954), regular appearances in TV shows like Hallmark Hall of Fame and The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse. Then a string of films for Universal acting with Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis, Four Guns to the Border (1954), Six Bridges to Cross (1955), The Second Greatest Sex (1955), opposite Maureen O’Hara in Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955).
Nader won a Golden Globe for “Most Promising Newcomer” in 1955. Everyone wanted him. Virginia Mayo’s beau in Congo Crossing (1956), co-starring in Away All Boats (1956), Esther Williams’ lead in The Unguarded Moment (1956), top billed in Four Girls in Town (1957) and Man Afraid (1957), supporting Audie Murphy in Joe Butterfly (1957), the star in Appointment with a Shadow (1958) and Flood Tide (1958), Hedy Lamarr’s man in The Female Animal (1958), starring again in Nowhere to Go (1958), the series lead in The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen and The Man and the Challenge, co-starring with Regis Toomey in Shannon, frequent stops on the Loretta Young Show. Going abroad, the title role in The Secret Mark of D’Artagnan (1963), starring in Zigzag (1963) and The Human Duplicators (1965), he went on a roll with Tread Softly (1965) and its sequels, The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967), The House of 1,000 Dolls (1967), Beyond Atlantis (1973).
In the 70s, George had an eye injury caused by an auto accident. Bothered by the bright lights of movie sets, he retired not long after. He published a science fiction novel Chrome in 1978. The Palm Springs Walk of Stars gave him a Golden Palm Star in 2002. Four of Nader’s films were MST experiments. The Million Eyes of Sumuru, Robot Monster, The Human Duplicators, and Beyond Atlantis. Sumuru was riffed twice. Five episodes? Mr. Popular or Man of Action?
