Leslie Nielsen along with co-star Anne
Francis in a trailer for Forbidden Planet
Posted on 11/30/2010 8:44:48 AM PST by Biggirl
What can I say? One of the funniest men in the movies, he had the dead pan comedy down to a science that has been imitated but never duplicated. From The Virginian to Airplane, he played everything with the same intensity, never cheating an audience out of a buck just to make a buck. I’ve included a best of video below. Enjoy, laugh out loud and say a prayer. God bless and God rest.
Wagon Train, Peyton Place, even Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, Nielsen made his mark in television across every imaginable genre. Here’s a long list of credits at IMBD. But it’s clearly his two spoofs, Naked Gun, and Airplane, where I think most audiences believe he really hit his stride. Here’s a list from IMBD. It will take you a while to go through these credits.
(Excerpt) Read more at radioviceonline.com ...
There are very few Hollywood figures who get this response out of me, but I will miss this man who, singlehandedly, made me laugh until I had tears coming out of my eyes on more than one occasion...
RIP indeed...I grin at his memory, even as I type this.
The problem is that I can’t look at his earlier movies now without waiting for him to do something funny- I laugh out loud at “The Virginian” waiting for him to say “and don’t call me Shirley”
He’s also a great example of a man who got an unexpected late-career opportunity and ran with it.
He was a B-list, straight-arrow actor whose career was winding down when the movie “Airport” opened a whole new world of comedic possibilities. He managed to somehow simultaneously combine both screwball and straight man roles in one person.
Like John Candy, Nielsen is irreplaceable.
He knew his craft very well!
Rest in Peace Officer Dreben.
You will be Shirley missed.
A sign of sucessful creativity.
I only wish he could have starred as Dr. Morbius in a screwball remake of “Forbidden Planet”.
With maybe Will Ferrell filling his former role as Commander “J.J.” Adams?
And Jessica Simpson as “Altaira”?
And did it brilliantly. I know I am not alone in this, but just the look of the wide open eyes, raised eyebrows and pursed lips was enough to make me laugh out loud, regardless of the content!
Just the look alone...
Leslie Nielsen along with co-star Anne
Francis in a trailer for Forbidden Planet
That movie just begs for a nutty remake. It would be great to do one that paid proper homage to the cheesy sets and props.
Though I don’t know if you could find anyone in Hollywood who can still do matte paintings.
I distinctly remember seeing “Naked Gun” in the theater and laughing the whole time; especially the scene where he broke into Ricardo Montalban’s office and accidentally set fire to his place - I had uncontrollable laughter with tears streaming down my face for 10-15 minutes.
RIP Leslie William Nielsen.
Yes, Forbidden Planet was basically a serious SciFi film. He played quite a few straight roles before turning to comedy. Did you see him in Creepshow? The episode was titled “Something to Tide You Over”.
“Richard Vickers (Leslie Nielsen), a coldblooded, wealthy husband, stages a terrible fate for his unfaithful wife, Becky (Gaylen Ross) and her lover, Harry Wentworth (Ted Danson) by burying them up to their necks on the beach, below the high tide line. He sets up closed-circuit TV cameras so the lovers can watch each other die. Richard is in for a surprise of his own when the people he murdered return as waterlogged, seaweed-covered zombies intent on getting revenge of their own.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creepshow
Here’s a clip of the grizzly conclusion of “Something to Tide You Over”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP0fBJ8DxYM
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