Ricky Nelson was a child star in the very popular TV series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet that ran from 1952 till 1966. He was in films too, but turned to a music career as he got older. Not many people realize it, but Ricky Nelson had 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973. "Poor Little Fool" was the very first song to be #1 on Billboard's newly created hot 100 chart. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. 

On December 31, 1985 at the age of 45 in an airplane crash.