(written from a Production point of view)
Gene Nelson (24 March 1920 – 16 September 1996; age 76), born Leander Eugene Berg, was an American director, dancer, performer, and producer. Nelson directed the Star Trek: The Original Series second series episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion". Nelson was the first new director during the second season, and despite finishing his episode on schedule, he was never hired again for the show.
Nelson started out as an ice skater in the Sonia Henie Ice Show, then became a dancer and started appearing in Hollywood movies in the late 1940s. After a decade of playing smaller film roles, he turned to directing, and between 1961 and 1979, he helmed numerous feature film and television projects. These include Elvis Presley's Kissin' Cousins (1964, with Yvonne Craig, Terri Garr, Lance LeGault, and Carey Foster) and Harum Scarum (1965, with Michael Ansara and Theo Marcuse), and films such as Hand of Death (1962, with Jack Donner) and Your Cheatin' Heart (1964, with Susan Oliver). His television credits include episodes of I Dream of Jeannie, Gunsmoke, The F.B.I., Hawaii Five-O, The Mod Squad (starring Tige Andrews and Clarence Williams III), Barnaby Jones (starring Lee Meriwether), Starsky & Hutch (starring David Soul), and Fantasy Island (starring Ricardo Montalban).