Leslie Nielsen

Leslie Nielsen
OC
Nielsen in 1982
Born
Leslie William Nielsen

(1926-02-11)February 11, 1926
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
DiedNovember 28, 2010(2010-11-28) (aged 84)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Resting placeEvergreen Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Alma materNeighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • producer
Years active1950–2010
Notable work
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1950; div. 1956)​
  • Alisande Ullman
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1958; div. 1973)​
  • Brooks Oliver
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1981; div. 1983)​
  • Barbaree Earl
    ​
    (m. 2001)​
Children2
Relatives
Military career
Allegiance Canada
Service / branch Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service1943–1945[1][2][3][4]
Battles / warsWorld War II
Signature

Leslie William Nielsen OC (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian.[5] With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.[6]

Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. After high school, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943[2] and served until the end of World War II.[3] Upon his discharge, he worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to study theatre at the Neighborhood Playhouse. He made his acting debut in 1950, appearing in 46 live television programs a year. He made his film debut in 1956, with supporting roles in several dramas and western and romance films produced between the 1950s and the 1970s.

Although his notable performances in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure gave him standing as a serious actor, Nielsen later gained enduring recognition for his deadpan comedy roles during the 1980s and the 1990s, after being cast for the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker comedy film Airplane! [7] In his comedy roles, he specialized in portraying characters oblivious to and complicit in their absurd surroundings.[8] His performance in Airplane! marked a turning point which made him "the Olivier of spoofs", according to film critic Roger Ebert,[9] and led to further success in the genre, starring in The Naked Gun film series, based on his earlier short-lived television series Police Squad!. He received a variety of awards and was inducted onto Canada's Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference whitehorse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen: 5 Things You Didn't Know About The "Naked Gun" Actor. Archived January 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine Complex Networks. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BBCobit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference thehindu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "'Naked Gun,' 'Airplane' actor Leslie Nielsen dies". Technology Marketing Corporation. Associated Press. December 2, 2010. 'I played a lot of leaders, autocratic sorts; perhaps it was my Canadian accent', he said.
  6. ^ Collins, Glenn (December 21, 1988). "Mr. Nondescript Becomes a Star in 'Naked Gun'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013.
  7. ^ Brown, Emma (November 29, 2010). "Leslie Nielsen, serious actor who became a master of deadpan comedy, dies at 84". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  8. ^ Maslin, Janet (December 2, 1988). "Review/Film; A Fall Guy as Antihero". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009.
  9. ^ Ebert, Roger (October 24, 2003). "Scary Movie 3". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2017.