Posted on 11/29/2010 6:45:09 AM PST by Red Badger
He gave the world a lot of laughs, and now many around the world are mourning Leslie Nielsen.
The Regina-born actor who went from serious drama to inspired bumbling in "Airplane!" and the "The Naked Gun" comedies, died yesterday at the age of 84.
He passed away at a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he was being treated for pneumonia.
Nielsen's nephew, Doug Nielsen, says his uncle died in his sleep with his wife Barbaree by his side.
Though his Canadian roots ran deep -- his father was a Mountie and his brother, Erik, a Yukon M-P -- Neilson became a naturalized U-S citizen.
He appeared in more than 100 films, starting in the 50's and played it pretty straight for the first 30 years.
But then came Airplane in 1980 and everything changed.
Lampooning the serious roles he'd made a B-movie career of, Neilson morphed into a comic icon -- a new role that seemed a natural fit.
In more recent years, he appeared on the Canadian TV series "Robson Arms."
"Robson Arms" producer, Brian Hamilton, told The Canadian Press Neilson was a pleasure to work with -- always keeping the atmosphere light with his mischievous sense of humour, which often included his infamous whoopee cushion.
Hamilton says Neilson inspired a generation of comic actors and writers and will be greatly missed.
Nielsen has stars on Hollywood's and Canada's Walk of Fame and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002.
(Excerpt) Read more at ottawa.ctv.ca ...
Truly a shame. But Leslie did alright, making it to 84 and staying employed and very funny for decades. RIP!
Leslie Neilson was hilarious - probably because I knew him first as a serious actor before he went into comedy, which seemed natural for him.
His last joke was on Barack Obama: he beat the Tax Man.
“And don’t call me Shirley”
RIP
He always wanted to do comedy.
He was a “class clown” in school..........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5egaR4WvLPY
Can’t help but notice the three different spellings of his last name. Neilsen, Nielsen, Neilson. They seem to have missed Nielson.
It’s i before e, except when it isn’t. It’s (en) except when it is (on).
Victor Buono played a great King Tut.
AMC is currently playing Airplane in a tribute to Leslie here on the west coast...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.