Leslie Nielsen Dies at 84
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:45 am
This man was one awesome comedy actor!
R.I.P.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010 ... 010/591126
LESLIE NIELSEN was halfway through his career before he found his true calling. Hidden beneath his leading-man persona--his handsome visage, athletic carriage, and intelligent demeanor--was a drop-dead funny comedian. Mr. Nielsen, star of "Airplane!" and other laugh-out-loud features, died Sunday at the age of 84.
Born in Canada the son of a Mountie, Mr. Nielsen took training as an aerial gunner in World War II but never saw action (too young). After the war, drawn by the allure of acting, he entered the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto, and by 1948 was getting parts in the exploding world of TV. Steady work there led to his feature film debut in 1956 in "The Vagabond King."
Initially, his good looks and stage presence earned him leading-man roles in productions such as "The Forbidden Planet" (1958), Disney's "Swamp Fox" (1959-61), and "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972).
Then the writing/directing team of Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker made a brilliant decision: They cast Mr. Nielsen, the quintessential straight man, in their disaster spoof "Airplane!" The contrast between Mr. Nielsen's deadpan and the lunacy going on around him was a huge success.
"Airplane!" launched Mr. Nielsen's career on a whole new trajectory. Movie critic Roger Ebert soon dubbed him "the Olivier of spoofs." His TV show, "Police Squad," while short-lived, led, after germinating several decades, to three highly successful feature films: "Naked Gun," "Naked Gun 2," and "Naked Gun 33." Many other spoofs followed, including the lead in Mel Brooks' 1995 film, "Dracula: Dead and Loving It."
In an interview with The New York Times in 1988, Mr. Nielsen said, "It's been dawning on me slowly that for the past 35 years I have been cast against type," he said, "and I'm finally getting to do what I really wanted to do."
Mr. Nielsen's career spanned 60 years. It's ended now, but not before he executed the classic show-biz advice: Leave 'em laughin'.
R.I.P.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010 ... 010/591126
LESLIE NIELSEN was halfway through his career before he found his true calling. Hidden beneath his leading-man persona--his handsome visage, athletic carriage, and intelligent demeanor--was a drop-dead funny comedian. Mr. Nielsen, star of "Airplane!" and other laugh-out-loud features, died Sunday at the age of 84.
Born in Canada the son of a Mountie, Mr. Nielsen took training as an aerial gunner in World War II but never saw action (too young). After the war, drawn by the allure of acting, he entered the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto, and by 1948 was getting parts in the exploding world of TV. Steady work there led to his feature film debut in 1956 in "The Vagabond King."
Initially, his good looks and stage presence earned him leading-man roles in productions such as "The Forbidden Planet" (1958), Disney's "Swamp Fox" (1959-61), and "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972).
Then the writing/directing team of Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker made a brilliant decision: They cast Mr. Nielsen, the quintessential straight man, in their disaster spoof "Airplane!" The contrast between Mr. Nielsen's deadpan and the lunacy going on around him was a huge success.
"Airplane!" launched Mr. Nielsen's career on a whole new trajectory. Movie critic Roger Ebert soon dubbed him "the Olivier of spoofs." His TV show, "Police Squad," while short-lived, led, after germinating several decades, to three highly successful feature films: "Naked Gun," "Naked Gun 2," and "Naked Gun 33." Many other spoofs followed, including the lead in Mel Brooks' 1995 film, "Dracula: Dead and Loving It."
In an interview with The New York Times in 1988, Mr. Nielsen said, "It's been dawning on me slowly that for the past 35 years I have been cast against type," he said, "and I'm finally getting to do what I really wanted to do."
Mr. Nielsen's career spanned 60 years. It's ended now, but not before he executed the classic show-biz advice: Leave 'em laughin'.