Nicholas Aloysius Adamshock (July 10, 1931 – February 7, 1968), better known as Nick Adams, was an American
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
and television
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
and
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
. He was noted for his roles in several
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
films during the 1950s and 1960s, including ''
Rebel Without a Cause
''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age melodrama film, directed by Nicholas Ray. The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. It is also the film debut of ...
'' and ''
Giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
'' along with his starring role in the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
''
The Rebel'' (1959–1961). He also led the cast of several
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese productions, including ''
Frankenstein Conquers the World'', ''
Invasion of Astro-Monster
is a 1965 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the sixth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise and Shōwa period. The film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the second collaboration ...
'', and ''The Killing Bottle''.
Decades after his death from a prescription drug overdose at the age of 36, his widely publicized friendships with
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...
and
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
would stir speculation about both his private life and the circumstances of his death. In an ''
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was ...
'' synopsis for Adams's last film, reviewer Dan Pavlides wrote, "Plagued by personal excesses, he will be remembered just as much for what he could have done in cinema as what he left behind."
Early life and career
Adams was born as Nicholas Aloysius Adamshock in
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania
Nanticoke is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,628, making it the third largest city in Luzerne County. It occupies of land. Nanticoke is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The ...
to Catherine (Kutz) and Peter Adamshock, an
anthracite
Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...
coal miner
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...
; both his parents were of Ukrainian ancestry. In 1958, he told columnist
Hedda Hopper
Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...
, "We lived in those little company houses — they were terrible. We had to buy from the company store and were always in debt and could never leave." After a mining accident, Adamshock's father quit his job as a miner and the family moved to
Jersey City
Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous .
Although a successful athlete at
Henry Snyder High School
Academy of the Arts at Henry Snyder High School is a four-year performing arts public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Greenville section of Jersey City, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as ...
, Adamschock failed to get a part in the school play when he was a senior. Adamshock's friends teased him about his acting ambitions. "Everybody thought I was crazy," he recalled. "My father said, 'Nick, get a trade, be a barber or something.' I said, 'But, Pop, I want to do something where I can make lots of money. You can't make lots of money with just a trade.'" After a year of unpaid acting in New York, he hitchhiked to Los Angeles.
Hollywood career
Struggling actor

Adamshock's earliest reported paid acting job in Los Angeles under the name ''"Nick Adams"'' was a stage role at the Las Palmas Theater in a comedy called ''Mr. Big Shot''. Although he was paid about $60 a week, Adams had to pay $175 for membership in
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...
. He also earned $25 one night at the
Mocambo nightclub, filling in for
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer, comedian and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the ti ...
who had fallen ill. Eight years later,
Hedda Hopper
Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...
told Adams she recalled writing about him at the time; and he replied by reciting back to her, "Nick Adams, gas station attendant from New Jersey, did an impersonation of Jimmy Cagney and a scene from ''Glass Menagerie''."
After three years of struggle and optimistic self-promotion, his first film role came in 1951, an uncredited one-liner as a
Western Union
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...
delivery boy in
George Seaton
George Seaton (April 17, 1911 – July 28, 1979) was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theater director. Seaton led several industry organizations, serving as a three-time president of the Motion Picture Aca ...
's ''
Somebody Loves Me'' (1952). This allowed him to join the
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
, but he was unable to find steady acting work, even when "creatively" claiming he had appeared with Jack Palance in ''The Silver Tassie'' in New York. Undaunted, Adams joined a theater workshop run by
Arthur Kennedy
John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914January 5, 1990) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the origi ...
. In January 1952, Adams enlisted in the
U.S. Coast Guard during the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, serving as an
Electrician's Mate.
[Adams, Nick, EM2 - Deceased.](_blank)
Together We Served. Retrieved February 22, 2024. He served until 1955, attaining the rank of
Petty Officer Second Class
Petty officer second class (PO2) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations.
Canada
Petty officer, 2nd class, (PO 2), is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of master sailor (f ...
and was awarded the
National Defense
National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived ...
and
Korean War Service Medals.
Supporting actor
About two years later, in June 1954, his ship docked in
Long Beach harbor
The Port of Long Beach, administered as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land w ...
and, after a brash audition for director
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
during which Adams did impressions of
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...
and other celebrities while dressed in his Coast Guard uniform, he took his accumulated leave and appeared as Seaman Reber in the 1955 film version of ''
Mister Roberts''. Adams then completed his military service, returned to Los Angeles and, at the age of 23, based on his work in ''Mister Roberts'', secured a powerful agent, and signed with
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
Adams had a small role (as Chick) in ''
Rebel Without a Cause
''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age melodrama film, directed by Nicholas Ray. The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. It is also the film debut of ...
'' (1955). Also that year Adams played the role of "Bomber" the paper boy in the widely popular film adaptation of ''
Picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...
'' (1955), which was mostly filmed on location in
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, and starred
William Holden
William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...
,
Kim Novak
Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired actress and painter. Her contributions to cinema have been honored with two Golden Globe Awards, an Honorary Golden Bear, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and a s ...
, and
Susan Strasberg
Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Thought to be the next Audrey Hepburn, Hepburn-type Ingénue, ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the ti ...
. He was not perceived by casting directors as tall or handsome enough for leading roles, but during the late 1950s, Adams had supporting roles in several successful television productions, including one episode of ''
Wanted Dead or Alive'' (1958) starring
Steve McQueen
Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...
, and films such as ''
Our Miss Brooks
''Our Miss Brooks'' is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high-school English teacher. It began as a Old Time Radio, radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television (1952–56), it became ...
'' (1956), ''
No Time for Sergeants
''No Time for Sergeants'' is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was adapted into a teleplay on '' The United States Steel Hour'', a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronic ...
'' (1958), ''
Teacher's Pet
A teacher's pet is a student who is viewed most favorably by their teacher in a school. They can be viewed unsympathetically by other students due to jealousy or envy in certain situations. The phenomenon is extensively acknowledged by the public ...
'' (1958), and ''
Pillow Talk
''Pillow Talk'' is a 1959 American romantic comedy film in CinemaScope directed by Michael Gordon and starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The supporting cast features Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter, Nick Adams, Allen Jenkins, Marcel Dalio and ...
'' (1959).
James Dean
Adams initially may have met
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...
in December 1950 while jitterbugging for a soft drink commercial filmed at
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Amer ...
. Adams spent three years in the Coast Guard between the time this commercial was shot in late 1950 and the start of filming for ''
Rebel Without a Cause
''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age melodrama film, directed by Nicholas Ray. The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. It is also the film debut of ...
'' in March 1955. Actor
Jack Grinnage
Jack Grinnage (born Jack Eugene Stewart, January 20, 1931) is an American actor with a film and television career spanning seven decades. Born in Los Angeles, Grinnage made his first television appearances in 1954. The following year, he played ...
, who played Moose, recalled, "Off the set, Nick,
Dennis (Hopper), and the others would go out together — almost like the gang we portrayed — but Jimmy and
Corey Allen
Corey Allen (born Alan Cohen; June 29, 1934 – June 27, 2010) was an American film and television director, writer, producer, and actor. He began his career as an actor but eventually became a television director. He is best known for playing ...
... were not a part of that." When production was wrapped, Dean said in another press release, "I now regard Natalie (Wood), Nick, and Sal (Mineo) as co-workers; I regard them as friends ... about the only friends I have in this town. And I hope we all work together again soon." Following Dean's 1955 death in an automobile accident, Adams overdubbed some of Dean's lines for the film ''
Giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
'' (these are in Jett Rink's speech at the hotel) and dated co-star
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...
. Adams tried to capitalize on Dean's fame through various publicity stunts, including a claim he was being stalked by a crazed female Dean fan, allowing himself to be photographed at Dean's grave in a contemplative pose, holding flowers, and surrounded by mourning, teenaged female fans along with writing articles and doing interviews about Dean for fan magazines. He also claimed to have developed Dean's affection for fast cars, later telling a reporter, "I became a highway delinquent. I was arrested nine times in one year. They put me on probation, but I kept on racing ... nowhere."
Elvis Presley
Adams's widely publicized friendship with
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
began in 1956 on the set of Presley's film ''
Love Me Tender'' during the second day of shooting. Presley had admired James Dean, and when the singer arrived in Hollywood, he was encouraged by studio executives to be seen with some of the "hip" new young actors there. Meanwhile, his manager
Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997) was a Dutch people, Dutch talent manager and concert promoter, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley.
Parker was born in the Netherlands and Il ...
was worried that Elvis' new Hollywood acquaintances might influence Presley and even tell him what they were paying their managers and agents (a fraction of what Presley was paying Parker).
Elaine Dundy
Elaine Rita Dundy (née Brimberg; August 1, 1921 – May 1, 2008) was an American novelist, biographer, journalist, actress and playwright.
Early life
She was born Elaine Rita Brimberg in New York City. Her Polish Jewish immigrant father, ...
called Parker a "master manipulator" who used Nick Adams and others in the entourage (including Parker's own brother-in-law
Bitsy Mott
Elisha Matthew Mott (June 12, 1918 – February 25, 2001), known as Bitsy Mott, was a backup infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed.
Career
Born in Arcadia, Flo ...
) to counter possible subversion against him and control Elvis' movements. She later wrote a scathing characterization of Adams:
... Brash struggling young actor whose main scheme to further his career was to hitch his wagon to a star, the first being James Dean, about whose friendship he was noisily boastful ... this made it easy for Parker to suggest that Nick be invited to join Elvis' growing entourage of paid companions, and for Nick to accept ... following Adams' hiring, there appeared a newspaper item stating that Nick and Parker were writing a book on Elvis together.
Dundy also wrote, "Of all Elvis' new friends, Nick Adams, by background and temperament the most insecure, was also his closest." Adams was
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...
's roommate during this period, and the three reportedly socialized together, with Presley "hanging out more and more with Nick and his friends" and glad his manager "liked Nick". Decades later,
Kathleen Tracy recalled Adams often met Presley backstage or at
Graceland
Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, once owned by American singer Elvis Presley. Presley is buried there, as are his parents Vernon and Gladys, paternal grandmother Minnie Mae, grandson Benjamin, and daugh ...
, where Elvis often asked Adams "to stay over on nights": "He and Elvis would go motorcycle riding late at night and stay up until all hours talking about the pain of celebrity" and enjoying prescription drugs.
Almost 40 years later, writer
Peter Guralnick
Peter Guralnick (born December 15, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American music critic, author, and screenwriter. He specializes in the history of early rock and roll and has written books on Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Sam Cooke ...
wrote that Presley found it "good running around with Nick ... there was always something happening, and the hotel suite was like a private clubhouse where you needed to know the secret password to get in and he got to change the password every day." Presley's girlfriend June Juanico complained the singer was always talking about his friend Adams and James Dean.
[Cited in Guralnick, ''Last Train to Memphis'', pp. 347–348. "He started telling her all about Nick and Nick's friends and ]Jimmy Dean
Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean (brand), Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV comm ...
, but she didn't want to hear." She also was upset that Adams had started inviting himself to see Elvis, and Juanico felt that she was trying to compete for Elvis' attention. Adams would talk often about
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...
to Elvis, constantly discussing her figure and her beauty, something else that caused Juanico to feel that she would soon lose Elvis to the glitz of Hollywood.
Presley's own mother even commented about Adams, "He sure is a pushy little fellow".
As with Dean, Adams capitalized on his association with Presley, publishing an account of their friendship in May 1957. In August 1958, after the death of Elvis's mother Gladys, Parker wrote in a letter, "Nicky came out to be with Elvis last Week was so very kind of him to be there with his friend."
"The Rebel and the King" by Nick Adams is a first-person account written by Adams about his friendship with Presley. The manuscript was written in 1956 by Nick during Presley's eight days in Memphis when the singer returned home for his big Tupelo homecoming. The manuscript was discovered 45 years later by Adams's daughter and initially published in 2012.
''The Rebel''

In 1959, Adams starred in the ABC series ''
The Rebel'' playing the character Johnny Yuma, a wandering, ex-Confederate, journal-keeping, sawed-off shotgun toting "trouble-shooter" in the old American west. He is credited as a co-creator of ''The Rebel'', but he had no role in writing the pilot or any of the series' episodes. Adams had asked his friend
Andrew J. Fenady to write the pilot as a starring vehicle for him. The series' only recurring character, publicized as a "Reconstruction beatnik", was played by Adams. He reportedly consulted with John Wayne for tips on how to play the role. Adams wanted Presley to sing the theme song for ''The Rebel'', but the show's producer wanted
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
. Adams recorded the song "Tired And Lonely Rebel" in 1960. Guest stars appearing on the series during its two-year run included
Dan Blocker
Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the NBC Western fiction, Western television series ''Bonanza''.
Biography Early life
Blocker was ...
,
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
,
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy ( ; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor and director, famous for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes Development of Spock, originating Spock in Star Trek: T ...
,
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...
, and
Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Nap ...
. A total of 76 half-hour episodes were filmed before the series was cancelled in 1961. Reruns were syndicated for several years. Adams went back to TV and film work, along with a role in the short-lived but critically successful television series ''
Saints and Sinners''.
''Twilight of Honor''
Adams was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in ...
for his performance as an unlikable murder suspect in the film ''
Twilight of Honor'' (1963), which featured the film debuts of both
Linda Evans
Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is a retired American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s, she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck), in the Wes ...
and
Joey Heatherton
Davenie Johanna "Joey" Heatherton (born September 14, 1944) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. A sex symbol of the 1960s and 1970s, she is best known for her many television appearances during that time. Heatherton was a frequent variet ...
. He campaigned heavily for the award, spending over $8,000 on ads in trade magazines, but many of his strongest scenes had been cut from the movie, and he lost to
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in 1929 as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy '' Ninotchka'' ( ...
.
Toho Studios and career decline
In 1964, Adams had a leading role opposite
Nancy Malone in an episode ("
Fun and Games") of ''
The Outer Limits
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
''. A review of this episode written over three decades later would characterize him as an "underrated actor".
[davidjschow.com, ]
The Outer Limits — Fun and Games
'', episode reviews written 1998–2001. Retrieved March 6, 2008. By this time Adams's career was stalling. He had high hopes his co-starring performance with
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series ''The Wild Wild West'', playin ...
in ''
Young Dillinger
''Young Dillinger'' is a 1965 gangster film directed by Terry O. Morse. It stars Nick Adams as the notorious criminal John Dillinger, and co-stars Robert Conrad, John Ashley and Mary Ann Mobley.
Plot
With help from Elaine, his girlfriend, youn ...
'' (1964) would be critically acclaimed, but the project had low production values, and both critics and audiences rejected the film. Also that year, Adams guest-starred in an episode of the short-lived CBS drama ''
The Reporter''.
In 1965, after publicly insisting he would never work in films produced outside the U.S., Adams began accepting parts in Japanese
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
monster movies (
''kaiju eiga''). He landed major roles in two science fiction epics from
Toho Studios
is a Japanese film studio and production company that is a subsidiary of Toho Co., Ltd. One of the most successful films produced by Toho Studio is the live-action film ''Godzilla Minus One'' (2023), which generated more than $100 million at t ...
in
Chiyoda, Tokyo
, known as Chiyoda City in English,
." ''City of Chiyoda''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008. is a S ...
. His first Japanese movie was ''
Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', in which he played Dr. James Bowen, a radiologist working in Hiroshima who encounters a new incarnation of the Frankenstein monster. Adams next starred in the sixth
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
film, ''
Invasion of Astro-Monster
is a 1965 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the sixth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise and Shōwa period. The film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the second collaboration ...
'' (known in the U.S. as ''Monster Zero''), in which he played Astronaut Glenn, journeying to the newly discovered Planet X. In both films, his character had a love interest with characters portrayed by actress
Kumi Mizuno. On the set of ''Monster Zero'', Adams and co-star
Yoshio Tsuchiya
was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Toshio Matsumoto's surreal ''Bara No Soretsu'' (a.k.a. '' Funeral Parade of Roses'') and Akira Kurosawa's ''Seven Samurai'' (as the firebrand farmer Rikichi) and '' Red Beard'', and Kihachi Okam ...
(who played the villainous Controller of Planet X) reportedly got along well and played jokes on each other. Adams made three films in Japan between 1965 and 1966. Adams' final film for Toho was the fifth and final film in the "International Secret Police" Series which included "Key of Keys"
Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (国際秘密警察 鍵の鍵, International Secret Police: Key of Keys), which was the basis for the Woody Allen scripted spoof ''
What's Up, Tiger Lily?'' (1966). The English title for this final film was "The Killing Bottle", Toho shot the film in Japanese with Adams doing his lines in English as in the previous films. An English dub was commissioned by Henry G. Saperstein, and produced by Titra Studios. This English version was never released in the U.S., but there were rumors of the English dub being released in Yugoslavia. The most interesting aspect of this film, is that Adams actually performed his own fights scenes using Kenpo, a style he had been learning under Senior Grand Master Ed Parker in the States. Previous to this time, he also co-starred with
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...
in ''
Die, Monster, Die!'' (1965), a Gothic horror–sci fi movie filmed in England.
1967: TV episodes and low-budget films
In early 1967,
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
released ''
Mosby's Marauders
''Mosby's Marauders'' is a 1967 American film about the raids by John S. Mosby during the US Civil War. It was originally filmed for US television under the title ''Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders''. Mosby's Marauders was later released Wal ...
'', a Civil War drama told from a southern perspective with Adams in the role of a cruel Union army sergeant. Adams guest-starred in five episodes of four TV series that year, including an installment of his friend
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series ''The Wild Wild West'', playin ...
's ''
The Wild Wild West
''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...
'', an appearance in ''
Combat!
''Combat!'' is an American television drama that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers ...
'' and two episodes of ''
Hondo'' (a short-lived western which also had an ex-Confederate theme). Throughout 1967 and early 1968, he also worked in three low-budget films. One of these was ''
Mission Mars'' (1968) which has been described as "rarely seen, and utterly dreadful."
Gary Westfahl
Gary Wesley Westfahl (born May 7, 1951) is an American writer and scholar of science fiction. He has written reviews for the ''Los Angeles Times'', '' The Internet Review of Science Fiction'' and Locus Online. He worked at the University of Cal ...
, the SciFi site,
Nick Adams
'. Retrieved December 5, 2007. Adams's costume for this movie included an off-the-shelf motorcycle helmet. Reacting to ''Mission Mars'' over 30 years later, SciFi reviewer
Gary Westfahl
Gary Wesley Westfahl (born May 7, 1951) is an American writer and scholar of science fiction. He has written reviews for the ''Los Angeles Times'', '' The Internet Review of Science Fiction'' and Locus Online. He worked at the University of Cal ...
wrote, "The only quality that Adams could persuasively project on film was a desperate desire to be popular, to be liked ... which helps to explain why Adams got his foot in many doors."
Adams's last U.S. production was a movie filmed in Iowa called ''
Fever Heat''. His last film appearance was in the little-seen Spanish-language western ''
Los Asesinos'', filmed in Mexico City, Mexico.
Marriage and children
Adams married former child actress
Carol Nugent
Carol Nugent is an American actress who began her career as a child. Nugent appeared in over 20 feature films and 11 television programs during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Her 1959 marriage to actor Nick Adams ended with his death in 1968, befor ...
in 1959.
Nugent had appeared in an episode of ''The Rebel''. They had two children, Allyson and Jeb Stuart Adams.
Jeb was a child actor, then gave up acting, and is now a successful realtor in Ventura County, California. Allyson was a film director, but is now a costume designer and activist.
Sometimes acrimonious marital problems reportedly interfered with his ability to get lucrative acting parts after 1963. While promoting ''Young Dillinger'' during a television appearance on ''
The Les Crane Show'' in early 1965, Adams "shocked" the viewing audience with an announcement that he was leaving his wife, seemingly without telling her first. The couple publicly announced a reconciliation a week later, but his career and personal life following this episode have been characterized as a "tragic freefall".
Adams and actress
Kumi Mizuno may have had a short affair while he was working in Japan. "That's one of the reasons my parents were divorced," his daughter, playwright
Allyson Lee Adams, later said. "My dad had a penchant for becoming infatuated with his leading ladies. It was a way for him to take on the role he was playing at the time." Rumors of a romance between the two were common occurrence until Mizuno denied it during an interview in 1996.
By July 1965, Adams and Nugent were legally separated; Nugent filed for divorce in September. The following month, while Adams was in Japan, Nugent was granted a divorce and custody of the children. In January 1966, Adams and Nugent announced another reconciliation on ''Bill John's Hollywood Star Notebook'', a local television show. However, in November 1966, Nugent resumed the divorce proceedings and obtained a restraining order against him, alleging Adams was "prone to fits of temper", and in an affidavit, charged he had "choked her, struck her and threatened to kill her during the past few weeks."
On January 20, 1967, Adams was waiting for a court hearing to start when he was served with a $110,000 defamation suit by Nugent's boyfriend,
Paul Rapp, who later married Nugent. Nevertheless, nine days later he was granted temporary custody of the children. His son Jeb Adams later recalled, "He saw it as a competition, basically, more than anything of getting custody of us. But, a matter of a week or two later, he gave us back to my mom." Nugent later regained legal custody of the children.
Death

After finishing ''Los Asesinos'' (1968), produced by
Luis Enrique Vergara
Luis Enrique Vergara (13 May 1922 – 2 February 1970) was a Mexican film producer and screenwriter who made low-budget horror and monster movies from 1950 to 1971. In attempt to please all film goers, he combined monsters and horror with act ...
and filmed in Mexico, Adams bought a plane ticket with his own money and flew to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, to co-star with
Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Pictures before achieving stardom through his roles in '' The Marrying Kind, P ...
in a science fiction/horror movie called ''Murder in the Third Dimension'', but when he got there, he found the project had been dropped.
Susan Strasberg
Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Thought to be the next Audrey Hepburn, Hepburn-type Ingénue, ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the ti ...
, who had worked with him 13 years earlier on the hit film ''
Picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...
'' and was living in Italy, encountered a thoroughly demoralized Adams in a Rome bar.
On the night of February 7, 1968, his lawyer and friend, ex-
LAPD
The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
officer Ervin Roeder, drove to the actor's house at 2126 El Roble Lane in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
to check on him after a missed dinner appointment. Seeing a light on and his car in the garage, Roeder broke through a window and discovered Adams in his upstairs bedroom, slumped dead against a wall.
During the autopsy Dr.
Thomas Noguchi found enough
paraldehyde
Paraldehyde is the cyclic trimer (chemistry), trimer of acetaldehyde molecules. Formally, it is a derivative of 1,3,5-trioxane, with a methyl group substituted for a hydrogen atom at each carbon. The corresponding tetramer is metaldehyde. A colo ...
, sedatives and other drugs in the body "to cause instant unconsciousness." The death certificate lists "paraldehyde and
promazine intoxication
Intoxication — or poisoning, especially by an alcoholic or narcotic substance — may refer to:
* Substance intoxication:
** Alcohol intoxication
** LSD intoxication
** Toxidrome
** Tobacco intoxication
** Cannabis intoxication
** Cocaine i ...
" as the immediate cause of death, along with the notation "accident;
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
; undetermined." During the 1960s, drug interaction warnings were not so prominent as they later would be, and the
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...
has subsequently warned these two types of drugs should never be taken together.
The death of Nick Adams has been cited in articles and books about Hollywood's unsolved mysteries along with speculation by a few of his acquaintances that he was murdered (according to author David Kulczyk, Adams was apparently planning to write a tell-all book revealing many sexual secrets of Hollywood names) and claims no trace of paraldehyde (a liquid
sedative
A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or Psychomotor agitation, excitement. They are central nervous system (CNS) Depressant, depressants and interact with brain activity, causing its decelera ...
often given to alcoholics at the time and one of two drugs attributed to his death) was ever found in his home. However, Adams's brother Andrew had become a medical doctor and prescribed the sedative to him. Moreover, a story in the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported stoppered bottles with prescription labels were found in the medicine cabinet near the upstairs bedroom where Adams's body was discovered. Through the years, his children offered speculation ranging from murder to accidental death, the latter perhaps caused by Roeder while trying to calm the actor's nerves with an unintentionally lethal combination of alcohol and prescription drugs (although the autopsy found no alcohol in Adams's blood). Actor
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series ''The Wild Wild West'', playin ...
, Adams's best friend, consistently maintained that the death was accidental.
Carol Adams is listed as Adams's spouse on his death certificate, evidence the divorce had not become final when the actor died. She and the children were living only a few blocks from his recently rented house on El Roble Lane.
Adams's remains were interred at Saints Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in
Berwick, Pennsylvania
Berwick is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located southwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. As of the 2020 United States census, 202 ...
. The backside of his gravestone, which bears a silhouette of Adams wearing the Civil War-era cap from his television series, is inscribed ''Nick Adams — The Rebel — Actor of Hollywood Screens''.
Later published speculation
Sexuality
Decades later, Adams's highly publicized life and death at a young age, his friendships with cultural icons such as
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...
and
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, and his reported drug consumption made his private life the subject of many reports and assertions by some writers who have claimed Adams may have been
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
or
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
. One of the earliest published mentions on this overall topic was made by gossip columnist
Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett (born Rona Burstein, October 8, 1936) is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizen ...
in her 1974 autobiography, in which she made no assertion Adams was homosexual or bisexual but claimed Adams had told her, along with a "whole roomful of people," that he wasn't making it because no one in Hollywood's upper stratosphere would accept his wife. Barrett called it "untrue. She was one of the most refreshing wives in the entire community" and went on to say Adams "had become the companion to a group of salacious homosexuals" who flattered the actor, which affected his judgment and caused him to blame Carol. Hollywood biographer
Lawrence J. Quirk claimed
Mike Connolly (a gay gossip columnist for ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' from 1951 to 1966) "would put the make on the most prominent young actors, including
Robert Francis,
Guy Madison,
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor. Born in Manhattan, Perkins began his career as a teenager in summer stock theater, summer stock programs, although he acted in films before his time on Broadway the ...
, Nick Adams, and
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...
." According to ''American Film'' (1986), "Nick Adams, who was ...gay, was the butt of anti-gay humor in ''
Pillow Talk
''Pillow Talk'' is a 1959 American romantic comedy film in CinemaScope directed by Michael Gordon and starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The supporting cast features Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter, Nick Adams, Allen Jenkins, Marcel Dalio and ...
''".
Some writers later called Adams a "Hollywood hustler" or a "street hustler". One journalist also refers to Adams as a "pool hustler" who made money in pool halls when he was a teenager in New Jersey and later while struggling to make ends meet during his early years in Hollywood.
Friendship with Dean and Presley
It is uncertain whether James Dean and Adams met before his service in the United States Coast Guard (1952–1955) and subsequent role in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). In his 1986 gossip book about gay Hollywood, ''Conversations with My Elders'',
Boze Hadleigh
Boze Hadleigh (born May 15, 1954) is an author. Until the 1990s, he published some of his works under the pseudonym George Hadley-Garcia. Several of his books cover popular culture, show business, and LGBT culture. His 22 books have been translat ...
claimed actor
Sal Mineo
Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award ...
told him in 1972, "I didn't hear it from Jimmy (James Dean), who was sort of awesome to me when we did Rebel, but Nick told me they had a big affair." According to Presley biographer
Albert Goldman
Albert Harry Goldman (April 15, 1927 – March 28, 1994) was an American academic and author.
Goldman wrote about the culture and personalities of the American music industry, both in books and as a contributor to magazines. He is known for ...
, "Nick Adams ingratiated himself with James Dean precisely as he would do a year or so later with Elvis. He offered himself to the shy, emotionally contorted and rebellious Dean, as a friend, a guide, a boon companion, a homosexual lover – whatever role or service Dean required." Journalist, screenwriter and author of books about Hollywood,
John Gregory Dunne
John Gregory Dunne (May 25, 1932 – December 30, 2003) was an American writer. He began his career as a journalist for ''Time'' magazine before expanding into writing criticism, essays, novels, and screenplays. He often collaborated with his wi ...
wrote that "James Dean was bisexual, as were Nick Adams and Sal Mineo." According to Eric Braun, "Elvis was attracted by Adams' outgoing personality and the young actors caused quite a stir, cruising round Los Angeles with
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...
,
Russ Tamblyn
Russell Irving Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934), also known as Rusty Tamblyn, is an American film and television actor and dancer.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor ...
and others on their Hondas." In 2005, Byron Raphael and Presley biographer
Alanna Nash wrote that Adams may have "swung both ways" like "Adams's good pal (and Elvis's idol) James Dean. Tongues wagged that Elvis and Adams were getting it on."
Studio-arranged dates
Adams regularly dated actresses with whom he made movies. During the mid-1950s, photographs of him with actress
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...
were widely publicized in fan magazines. ''Modern Screen'' wrote at the time "their relationship has been mostly for fun" and they shared "a tendency toward moodiness and unpredictability." The magazine also reported they had given joint interviews "in which they admitted they adored each other" and "they even came terribly close to getting married" in Las Vegas. The same article also remarked that on one of their trips they "posed for innumerable publicity photographs — that was the real reason for the trip — " and "Right now, both Nick and Natalie are inclined to deny the whole Las Vegas episode." In his 2004 biography ''Natalie Wood: A Life'' biographer and screenwriter
Gavin Lambert
Gavin Lambert (23 July 1924 – 17 July 2005) was a British-born screenwriter, novelist and biographer who lived for part of his life in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood. His writing was mainly fiction and nonfiction about the film indust ...
wrote in passing, Wood's "first studio-arranged date with a gay or bisexual actor had been with Nick Adams." In his biography of gay Hollywood agent
Henry Willson
Henry Leroy Willson (July 31, 1911 – November 2, 1978) was an American Hollywood talent agent who played a large role in developing the beefcake craze of the 1950s.
His clients included Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Chad Everett, Robert Wagner ...
, Robert Hofler deals with the rise of the studio star system, in which several actors spent time on the homosexual casting couch and dated girls or even entered into sham marriages in order to cover their homosexuality. "In the Henry Willson date pool," the author says, "Nick Adams was one client, among many, who glommed on to Natalie Wood to get his picture taken."
Suzanne Finstad cites actor
Jack Grinnage
Jack Grinnage (born Jack Eugene Stewart, January 20, 1931) is an American actor with a film and television career spanning seven decades. Born in Los Angeles, Grinnage made his first television appearances in 1954. The following year, he played ...
, one of the gang members in ''
Rebel Without a Cause
''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age melodrama film, directed by Nicholas Ray. The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. It is also the film debut of ...
'', about Nick Adams's and
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...
's reasons "for getting close to Natalie. 'I remember being in Dennis' dressing room with Nick and Natalie ... I don't know which one of them said this — it was Nick or Dennis — but he said, "We're gonna hang on to her bra straps." Meaning up the career ladder.' Natalie's tutor, who knew Hopper and Adams off set, said, 'Both of those two guys were all over her ... because they could see that this movie was going to be a big thing for Natalie ... they were game for anything in order to be noticed and to get ahead in the business.' "
Actress
Olive Sturgess relates: "When Nick and I went out, it was a casual thing —no great love or anything like that ... I thought he was very troubled ... You could feel he was troubled. It was the manner he had —that was the way he was in real life, always brooding ... When we went out, it was never on his motorcycle! That's one trick he couldn't pull on me. We always went in a car!"
Lack of confirmation
Because of morality clauses in studio contracts, along with practical marketing concerns, most homosexual actors during the 1950s and 1960s were forced to be discreet about their sexuality. However, Adams was known in Hollywood for embellishing and inventing stories about his show business experiences and long tried to capitalize on his associations with James Dean and Elvis Presley. In a brief biographical article, journalist Bill Kelly wrote Adams "became James Dean's closest pal, although Nick was
straight
Straight may refer to:
Slang
* Straight, slang for heterosexual
** Straight-acting, normal person
* Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture
Sport and games
* Straight, an alternative name for the cross, a type of punch in boxing
* Str ...
and Dean was bisexual."
[Bill Kelly, ]
The Unsolved Death of Nick Adams
'', retrieved December 5, 2007, please note however, although Kelly knew Adams, this article contains several verifiable errors of fact. Moreover, there are neither court documents (such as from the long and drawn-out divorce and child custody proceedings between him and his wife), nor personal letters from Adams, nor directly attributable statements by any alleged male lovers, to support the assertions.
Filmography
Notes and references
*
External links
*
Peter L. Winkler, "Nick Adams: His Hollywood Life and Death" ''Crime Magazine'', August 15, 2003.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Nick
1931 births
1968 deaths
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American male television writers
Television writers from California
American people of Ukrainian descent
Drug-related deaths in California
Henry Snyder High School alumni
Male actors from Jersey City, New Jersey
Male actors from Los Angeles
Male actors from Pennsylvania
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
People from Nanticoke, Pennsylvania
RCA Victor artists
Screenwriters from Pennsylvania
United States Coast Guard personnel of the Korean War
Western (genre) television actors
Writers from Jersey City, New Jersey