Leslie Nielsen left us yesterday at the age of 84. A Canadian character actor whose career and persona changed in a major way when he became a distinctive comedy icon after co-starring in the classic spoof Airplane!(1980) He then became known as the straight faced, oblivious creator of comic chaos in films like The Naked Gun (1988) and it's sequels which inspired more spoof movies such as Spy Hard (1996) and Wrongfully Accused (1998). His famous character Frank Drebin, which debuted on the short lived series Police Squad! leading to the Naked Gun series was only one of the over 200+ characters he played in front of the camera.
Sci-fi fans will remember him for his lead role in the 1956 classic Forbidden Planet. Those who remember the golden age of television would have seen him on numerous series like Gunsmoke, The Fugitive, The Big Valley, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Hawaii Five-O, Barnaby Jones, Ironside, Kojak, etc.
He even graced the stage, notably in a one man show where he portrayed lawyer Clarence Darrow.
I say we all pay tribute to this legendary actor by putting in a DVD of one his many films, which numbered over 100. He leaves behind a prolific body of work that made us all laugh heartily.
Thanks for the great laughs Leslie! We'll miss you.
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