Born and raised in Minneapolis, Lloyd Nelson also went to radio school there. He worked at a few stations in the mid-south and in the Twin Cities market before he was drafted; he later (1953) came out to Hollywood using the G.I. Bill to attend the Pasadena Playhouse. He made his movie debut in a small, uncredited role in "The Court Jester" (1956); producer-director Jerry Warren later saw him in a little theater production and gave him one of the starring roles in "Man Beast" (1956), Nelson's first of several Warren movies. (Because "Man Beast" was non-union, Nelson used the nom de screen "Lloyd Cameron.") The Pasadena Playhouse helped him get him a job as dialogue coach on the TV series "Lassie"; he coached child star Jon Provost, who (according to Nelson) couldn't read. During his long run on "Lassie," Nelson learned the duties of a script supervisor and switched over to that profession. After he retired from script supervising, he went through the police academy and became a reserve cop. ("Strictly administrative, believe me. I could no more do a foot chase than climb Mount Everest!")