Alberta Nelson was an American actress who rose to fame in the 1960s for her roles in the popular Beach Party series of films. She played Puss, the leather-clad girlfriend of Eric Von Zipper, the leader of a gang of bikers who often clashed with the main characters played by Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. Nelson also appeared in several television shows, including The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Love, American Style. But what was the cause of death of this talented and versatile actress?
Early Life and Career
Alberta Nelson was born on August 14, 1937, in Erie, Pennsylvania, to Frank Alton Nelson and Katherine Storkel Stephens Nelson. She had a half-sister, Irene Stephens McAleer. After graduating from the Andrews School for Girls in Willoughby, Ohio, in 1955, she briefly attended St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio. In the late 1950s, she moved to New York City, where she modeled and did theatre acting.
With the help of her cousin, the theatrical producer John Kenley, Nelson ventured into acting with the Erie Playhouse in Erie, Pennsylvania, and eventually played the lead in a production of The Seven Year Itch. She went on to appear in Broadway plays such as Once There Was a Russian, The Wall, and The Gang’s All Here.
Beach Party Movies and Television Roles
Nelson’s big break came when she was cast as one of Eric Von Zipper’s “mice” in the American International Beach Party series. She appeared in all seven movies of the series, starting with Beach Party in 1963 and ending with The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini in 1966. She played Puss (sometimes also called Alberta or Lisa), a tough but loyal biker chick who often got into trouble with her boyfriend and his rivals. Nelson’s comedic timing and physical humor made her a fan favorite.
Nelson also made four appearances on The Andy Griffith Show (and one on Mayberry RFD), all but one as waitress Flora Malherbe, who was Goober Pyle’s girlfriend. In 1965, she appeared in a memorable episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show (“Go Tell The Birds And The Bees”) as Ritchie’s teacher, Miss Reshovsky. She also guest-starred on other shows such as The Munsters, Gomer Pyle: USMC, and Petticoat Junction.
Later Years and Death
After her successful stint as Flora on The Andy Griffith Show and her comedic career as biker girl Puss, Nelson starred in 1970s The Wild Scene as Dr. Virginia Grant, a female psychiatrist who talks graphically about her tawdriest cases. This and a 1970 appearance on Love, American Style would be Nelson’s last credited roles.
Nelson married Ryan MacDonald around 1956 in Erie PA. Their son Adam was born in NYC around 1957 but died of SIDS at two months of age. Nelson and MacDonald divorced around 1962. She remarried Herbert Lester Gilman on February 14, 1971 in Erie PA. She and Gilman had no children together but Herbert had three adult children from his first marriage.
