Leslie Nielsen 1926 - 2010
Leslie Nielsen was one of the most recognisable comic actors to have ever graced the big screen as he enjoyed a career that spanned over sixty years.
Nielsen was born in February 11, 1926 and after enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force, although he was too young to be sent overseas, and working as a DJ he finally found acting.
He moved to New York to take up a scholarship at the neighbourhood Playhouse, where he studied music and theatre.
It was 1948 when he made his television debut when he appeared in Studio One before going onto the likes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Swamp Fox and Thriller.
It wasn’t long before cinema came knocking and he made his big screen debut in 1956 with Ransom before going on to Forbidden Planet and The Opposite Sex.
Throughout the three decades Nielsen juggled TV and movie roles as he moved from police roles in The New Breed before moving onto the disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure.
While he had enjoyed success on both the big and small screen since making his debut in the late forties it was Airplane! In 1980 that really showed off his comedic talent.
It was a role that Nielsen would be forever remembered for and it as a comedic remake of Zero Hour in 1957.
The film was directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and jerry Zucker and is widely recognised as one of the best comedies to ever hit the big screen.
The film went on to gross over $84 million in the U.S. alone and Nielsen will forever be remembered for the line "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."
Deadpan comedy seemed to be the way forward for Nielsen, as well as a hit at the box office, and this type of comedy came to TV in the form of Police Squad.
The actor took on the role of Frank Drebin and although only six episodes were made Nielsen went on to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
But in 1988 Frank Drebin made it onto the big screen in the movie The Naked Gun, a performance that has been synonymous with Nielsen since the release of the movie.
This laugh out loud movie saw Frank trying to foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. The movie was both a critical and commercial success and spawned two sequels.
While the actor has continued to work, in both TV and films, he has never been able to recreate that success. During his career he appeared in over 100 movies and 1.500 TV programmes.
Leslie Nielsen sadly passed away at the weekend after complications from pneumonia at the age of eighty four. He is survived by two children.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw