Renowned comedian Leslie Nielsen passes away after a memorable lifetime in film.
Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010)
One of the greatest comedians in the history of film, actor Leslie Nielsen died on November 28.
Nielsen was born on February 11, 1926 in Saskatchewan, Canada but later moved to Edmonton, Canada where he spent his childhood. After finishing school, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. After he was discharged, he worked at a local radio station.
In the mid 1950s Nielsen moved to Hollywood and began his acting Career. He was able to land leading roles in several films, but none of them were big hits. His most notable film appearance from this time was his role as the captain in the 1979 disaster movie, The Poseidon Adventure. His looks and acting skills commonly gave him roles as a dramatic adult, and frankly weren’t very successful. He acted in more than 50 works of film in this period of time.
His role as the oblivious Dr. Rumack in Airplane!, however was what brought him true fame. This 1980 comedy gave Nielsen a chance to maintain his serious style while delivering hilarious lines. The plane was going to crash, and Rumack (Nielsen) had to find a pilot for the plane and asked a passenger:
“Can you fly this plane, and land it?”
The passenger responded, “Surely you can’t be serious.”
“I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley,” said Nielsen.
He perfectly delivered several one-liners in this film, showing his skill with comedy. With this new popularity, Nielsen became known as a comedian and acted in several movies that prove his talents as a funny man.
After Airplane!, Nielsen continued his comedic career by starring in the television series Police Squad! The show wasn’t well received, but Nielsen reprised his role years later as the clumsy Detective Frank Drebin in the movie The Naked Gun: Files From The Police Squad! and its sequels. Afterwards, Nielsen starred in several more comedies, including Spy Hard, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Scary Movie 3 & 4, and Superhero Movie. Leslie Nielsen set a high standard for future straight-faced comedians with Airplane! and continued to act as a funny man for the rest of his career.
His films weren’t very famous for the moving storyline, or their deep characters, but their straight-faced jokes were what made them worth watching. Some critics may not have enjoyed those movies because they were made just to make people laugh; then again, the value of a good laugh is often underestimated.
Nielsen passed away on November 28th due to complications of pneumonia. He was in the company of his family and friends at the time of his death.
