- He studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute (formerly known as the California School of Fine Arts) in San Francisco, California and at Mills College in Berkeley, California. He was trained as a painter when he became active in the San Francisco arts scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He began making movies with other painters, William T. Wiley and William Allan, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and the composer, Steve Reich.
- He is survived by his sons, Steve Nelson and Miles Nelson and daughter Oona Nelson. He was married and divorced four times.
- He taught film-making at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
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