26. She Hit Rock Bottom
While waiting for a divorce, Nelson found living as a single mom of four agonizing. Making things worse was her own continued substance use and problems with drinking. Being short of cash, she had to get a job. The only thing she could find was a position as an assistant to a casting director for just $200 a week. This was a far cry from appearing on one of America’s most popular TV shows.
She needed this divorce finalized to get Ricky’s money.
27. She Got Left Out
In 1982, Nelson finally got her divorce. Sadly, the real winners were the lawyers and accountants. They scored over $1 million, and Ricky had to pay it all. Now, Ricky really was broke. He had to continue touring to keep up his payments for the kids.
And Nelson realized she still had to work to make ends meet.
28. She Got A Bit Part
In 1982, Kristin Nelson appeared in another film about teen pregnancy. Liar’s Moon was an early film for future star Matt Dillon. This time around, Nelson wasn’t the cute teen who got in trouble but played the small part of an after hours adult companion. Clearly, she was scraping the bottom of the barrel for roles.
She’d need to because a devastating accident was about to leave her very much alone.
Screenshot from Liar’s Moon, Crown International Pictures (1981)
29. He Bought A Plane
Ricky hated using a bus for touring, but he also hated flying. With no other options, he bought a well-used second-hand plane. This 1944 DC-3 had seen better days—back when it belonged to Jerry Lee Lewis—but now it looked in pretty bad shape. Sadly, it was all Ricky could afford. He had to keep touring to keep up with his ever-increasing debts.
photographer:Maurice Seymour, Chicago, Wikimedia Commons
30. The Plane Went Down
The DC-3 had already caused Nelson various headaches. He’d missed the inaugural Farm Aid charity concert because of it. But what happened next was much worse than a headache. On New Year’s Eve, the plane carrying Ricky, his fiancée, and members of his band went down in a Texas cow pasture. Only the two pilots survived.
Nelson was now very much alone.
Lentz W (Sgt), No 9 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Wikimedia Commons
31. She Needed Money
Once Kristin Nelson dealt with her feelings about losing Ricky, she started thinking about money. After all, she had four children and someone had to feed them. Her fear was that Ricky’s life insurance would not go to her or the kids, so she got the idea to sue the Nelson family.
Ricky’s older brother, David Nelson, was administering the estate. Nelson made the decision to take him to court.
32. She Lost Her Cool
Ricky’s funeral was a tense affair. Everyone knew that Kristin Nelson had plans to try and get money from Ricky’s estate and few people were happy about it. An argument erupted between Nelson and her daughter, Tracy. It got so heated that Nelson ended up throwing her daughter to the ground and using her purse as a weapon.
Tensions were running high as Nelson’s case went before the judge.
33. The Kids Would Be All Right
It was a Los Angeles judge who listened to Nelson’s plea for money from Ricky’s estate. The judge rejected it. David Nelson knew who he wanted to protect. He made sure that there was money for all four of the children. But for Nelson herself, there was nothing.
Nelson would have been very much alone if it weren't for her siblings.
34. She Had Famous Siblings
While Kristin Nelson was making her rise to fame, her siblings were on a similar track. Her younger sister, Kelly, had appeared in TV shows and had reached a strange height of her fame as the “Tic-Tac Girl”. Nelson’s younger brother, Mark Harmon, was also appearing on TV and had married Pam Dawber, from TV’s Mork & Mindy.
As Nelson’s life began its spiral downward, her siblings got involved.
Bill Wheatley from Los Angeles, CA, USA, Wikimedia Commons
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35. She Couldn’t Raise The Kids
After the tragic plane crash, Kristin Nelson was on a downward spiral that left little time for parenting. Her youngest son Sam, lived with her parents, her sister Kelly and also with her brother Mark Harmon, who at this point was appearing on the hit show St Elsewhere.
Harmon watched in horror as his sister’s life began unraveling.
Angela George, Wikimedia Commons
36. She Lost Her Art
Since she was 17 years old, Nelson had been a painter. Back in 1967, she’d even had a one-woman show, and she’d sold her paintings for as much as $5,000. Celebrities like Mia Farrow and Jacqueline Kennedy had paid big bucks for her works of art. Harmon saw that in her horrid state, Nelson couldn’t bear to put a brush to canvas.
Harmon wanted to help his troubled sister.
20th Century Fox, Wikimedia Commons
37. She Had An Angel
Harmon could see that his sister really needed help. He had a solution, but wondered how she would react. His idea was for her to enter rehab. Kristin Nelson later said that no one else could have convinced her to do it. It seemed that Harmon was like a guardian angel to Nelson.
But Harmon could not be totally trusted.
38. She Faced A Lawsuit
Nelson emerged from rehab and right into a lawsuit. To Nelson’s horror, Harmon was now petitioning to get custody of her son, Sam. Apparently, Sam had told his therapist that it was scary to be around his mom. This had made Harmon leap into action. He wanted to keep Sam safe, and that meant keeping him away from Nelson.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
39. She Went To Court
Still feeling raw from her stint in rehab, Nelson had to go to court to keep custody of her son. There was a hearing in July 1987, and Sam’s therapist took the stand. Apparently, Sam had drawn a picture of his mother as a dragon. Harmon’s wife, Pam Dawber, spoke up and said that Sam was afraid to go home because Nelson called him names and raised her voice at him.
The judge took it all in and made a decision.
Angela George, Wikimedia Commons
40. She Lost Him
The judge made a decision, and just like that, Nelson had lost custody of 12-year-old Sam. Worse still, Nelson had to stay 180 m (200 yds) away from her brother’s house. The man who Nelson had seen as a guardian angel had turned into a devil. She was going to have to fight against the picture-perfect life that Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber offered Sam.
It was going to be a battle royale.
Jerry Avenaim, Wikimedia Commons
41. They Fought Like Cats And Dogs
In August 1987, the trial for custody of Sam was in full swing, and neither party was holding back. Nelson came out fighting and accused Dawber of substance use when she was starring in Mork & Mindy. Harmon and Dawber came back with stories of Nelson’s own substance use and poor parenting.
It was turning into a blood bath, and there was no end in sight.
42. He Wanted It To Stop
Harmon saw the wretched damage this trial was doing, and he wanted to stop it. From out of nowhere, he decided to drop the case. Harmon agreed to only having visitation rights with Sam. But Nelson had to agree to attend therapy with her son and Harmon. Miraculously, Nelson was getting a second chance with her son.
While things were looking up in her life, Nelson made a huge life decision.
Screenshot from NCIS, CBS Media Ventures (2003-Present)
43. She Walked Down The Aisle
In 1988, Nelson gave marriage another try. This time it was Mark Tinker, the son of NBC executive Grant Tinker and TV icon Mary Tyler Moore. Tinker had a connection to Nelson's brother. He was the producer on St Elsewhere, a hospital drama Harmon had appeared on for three seasons. Sadly, their marriage lasted only until 2000.
Done with marriage, Nelson decided to relocate.
44. She Found Her Own Paradise
Nelson settled in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here, she had time to spend with her children. Tracy Nelson had followed in her parents’ footsteps and appeared in many TV shows as a guest star and also as a regular on Square Pegs opposite Sarah Jessica Parker. She also studied ballet for 17 years.
Her brothers were also in show business.
Jim Accordino at https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmyack205/, Wikimedia Commons
45. The Twins Make Music
Nelson’s twins, Matthew and Gunnar, had become musicians and formed the hard rock duo called Nelson. Unlike their father, the twins have maintained a healthy image free of scandal. Their most recent gig was on season 2 of the superhero TV series Peacemaker in 2025.
But we can’t forget the youngest sibling: Sam Nelson.
User:Megproc84, Wikimedia Commons
46. He’s A Survivor
Nelson’s youngest child is Sam, and it was he who perhaps suffered the most in the family’s dramas. The tug-of-war between Nelson and her brother Mark Harmon certainly could have scarred young Sam for life. When he became an adult, Sam studied psychology and film at Boston College. Happily, Sam says he and Nelson are “absolutely close”.
Nelson seemed content to spend her final days in New Mexico. But her health was soon an issue.
47. She Had A Scare
Sometime around 2017, Tracy said that her mother had a health scare. It was so bad that Nelson ended up in a coma. Tracy remembers looking at her mother and seeing her clenched jaw. Still, she knew that she still had some fight left in her. She was right, Nelson recovered.
But she didn’t have long to live.
48. She Passed
On April 27, 2018, Nelson died of a heart attack at her home in Sante Fe. She was 72. To announce her passing, Tracy took to social media, publicly posting about her mother's demise on May 1, 2018. The weird thing was: no one seemed to notice.
49. She Posted About Her Loss
In her Facebook post, Tracy didn't hold back in her praise. She referred to her mom’s ability to party and called her a “cool person”. Afterward, Tracy likely expected the world to respond. But that’s not what happened.
Strangely enough, it was her brother who brought eyes to the post.
50. She Almost Got Missed
At the time of Nelson’s passing, her brother Harmon was appearing in CBS’s hit show NCIS. By chance, the show was having its season finale. Because of the excitement over the finale, the media stumbled upon Tracy’s Facebook post. If it hadn’t been for NCIS, who knows when the world would have noticed Nelson’s passing. Luckily, she had her kids in her life at the end.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Image
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Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
