Kenneth Nelson was an American stage and screen actor, born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, who appeared in multiple television shows dating back to the late 40s. His first of many Broadway performances was the musical Seventeen, adapted from the Booth Tarkington novel. He continued making a name for himself in off-Broadway shows such as The Fantasticks, which went on to become the longest running musical in the world at the time with 17,162 performances. In 1968, Nelson took on his most remembered role, a lead in the groundbreaking and highly controversial play The Boys in the Band, which was the first play to explore gay life in New York City without the use of veiled terms and innuendo, but rather frank and realistic dialogue. In 1970, director William Friedkin, never one to shy away from controversy, invited Nelson to reprise his role in the film adaptation. It's here, Kenneth shows off his hairy chest and svelte figure as he speaks to his equally shirtless lover whose back is turned. Tragically, Nelson died of AIDS-related complications in 1993.
