Leslie Nielsen
The Olivier of spoofs
Leslie William Nielsen was a Canadian and American actor and comedian whose career spanned 60 years, encompassing over 100 films and 150 television programs.[1]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Leslie William Nielsen
- Born
- 11 February 1926
- Birthplace
- Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Died
- 28 November 2010
- Place of death
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
- Resting place
- Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Education
- Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre; Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts
- Occupation
- Actor
- comedian
- producer
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force at age 17 in 1943, training as an aerial gunner.[2] His feature film debut came in 1956 with The Vagabond King, followed by the successful science-fiction film Forbidden Planet.[3][4] He starred as Frank Drebin in the television series Police Squad! and the subsequent Naked Gun film trilogy.[5][6] A scholarship took Nielsen to New York City for the Neighborhood Playhouse, and his first television appearance occurred in 1950 on Studio One.[7]
Nielsen's part in Airplane! represented a transition from dramatic acting to deadpan comedy.[8]
What the cited sources add
A 2009 article on Bloody-disgusting.com reports that Nielsen appeared in the Spanish spoof film Spanish Movie, which parodies films such as The Orphanage and Pan's Labyrinth.[9] The same source notes that Nielsen traveled to Spain for this foreign film production.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Leslie Nielsen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Comedian returning home to host fundraiser", The Record, June 16, 2005; Collins, "Mr. Nondescript Becomes a Star in 'Naked Gun'", The New York Times, December 21, 1988 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leslie Nielsen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "'We always knew him as a funny guy'", Whitehorse Star, November 29, 2010; R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen: 5 Things You Didn't Know About The "Naked Gun" Actor. Complex Networks. Retrieved June 21, 2021.; "Biodata about Nielsen's abusive father"; "Leslie Nielsen, RIP. "And don't call me Shirley"", Chicago Sun-Times, November 29, 2010; "No Joke! Nielsen in Drama", Rocky Mountain News, June 14, 1996; "Primetime Emmy-Nominated Actor Leslie Nielsen Dies at 84", Television Academy, November 29, 2010; Obituary: Leslie Nielsen BBC. Retrieved June 21, 20 en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leslie Nielsen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Atkinson, "' Seagulls Over Sorrento,' Comedy by Hugh Hastings, Launches New Theatrical Season Here", New York Times, September 12, 1952; "Seagulls Over Sorrento – Broadway Play – Original", Internet Broadway Database; "Leslie Nielsen – Broadway Cast & Staff", Internet Broadway Database; Thomas, "Nielsen is Serious About Comic Side", The Times Union, September 9, 1993; Arnold, "Shy actor loves his life as a comic", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 6, 1988; Dalton, "Leslie Nielsen, 84; versatile actor's career took off with comedies", en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leslie Nielsen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Forbidden Planet (1956)", Rotten Tomatoes (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leslie Nielsen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Leslie Nielsen Interview (Radio)", KJZZ 91.5 FM; "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!", Box Office Mojo; "The Naked Gun – From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)", Rotten Tomatoes, December 2, 1988; Ebert, "The Naked Gun", Chicago Sun-Times, December 12, 1988 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leslie Nielsen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear", Box Office Mojo; "The 33 1/3: The Final Insult", Box Office Mojo (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leslie Nielsen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ross, "Worth the Rent", The Tampa Tribune, July 2024; Hopper, Hedda, "These New Faces Will Go Places in 1957!", Chicago Tribune, January 6, 1957, p. H16; Wise, "International Stars at War", Naval Institute Press, 2002, p. 221; Arnold, "Shy actor loves his life as a comic", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 6, 1988; Carr, "If Leslie Nielsen has learned anything, it's how to play slapstick with a ... straight face", The Boston Globe, March 13, 1994 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Leslie Nielsen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dudek, "25 years and still laughing; Airplane!' maintains its cruising", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "'Spanish Movie' Spoofs Popular Flicks from Spain", Bloody-disgusting.com, December 7, 2009. facts only, no text reused. bloody-disgusting.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Leslie Nielsen (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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