Edwin Stafford Nelson (December 21, 1928 – August 9, 2014)[1] was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Michael Rossi in the television series Peyton Place.

Nelson's television career featured many guest-starring roles, such as the talented, arrogant Dr. Wade Parsons in the 1962 episode "Doctor on Horseback" of the western series The Tall Man.

Nelson was cast in episodes of such other westerns as Maverick, Wagon Train, Black Saddle, Have Gun – Will Travel, The Rebel (five times), Johnny Ringo, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Tombstone Territory, Bat Masterson, Laramie, Bonanza, Stoney Burke, The Dakotas, The Rifleman and Redigo.

He appeared on drama and adventure series too, such as Combat!, The Fugitive, The Twilight Zone, Flight, The Silent Service, The Untouchables, The Outer Limits, Harbor Command, Tightrope, Coronado 9, The Eleventh Hour, Thriller, and Channing.

He played rival mystery writer Tom Keller opposite James Mason as Warren Barrow on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" S1 E5 "Captive Audience" (1962).

In 1964, Nelson secured his most famous role, portraying Dr. Michael Rossi on the drama Peyton Place, staying with the series during its entire run from 1964 to 1969.

Subsequently, Nelson had guest-starring roles on many of the popular dramas of the 1970s and 1980s, including Marcus Welby, M.D., Laramie, Cannon, O'Hara, U.S. Treasury, Night Gallery, Banacek, Alias Smith and Jones, Mod Squad, Mission: Impossible, The Streets of San Francisco, Kung Fu, The F.B.I.

[citation needed] He also continued appearing in theatrical films, such as Airport 1975 (1974), That's the Way of the World (1975), Acapulco Gold (1976), Midway (1976), For the Love of Benji (1977), Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), Brenda Starr (1989), The Boneyard (1991), Who Am I?

In the early 1970s, he ran for city council and mayor of San Dimas, California until a Federal Communications Commission ruling stated that his political opponents must be given equal time if he appeared in television programs.