"A hospital," you ask, "What is it?"
It's a large building where sick people go, but that's not important right now...
On November 28, 2010, Leslie Nielsen died in his sleep in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida hospital of complications from pneumonia.
Although Nielsen's acting career crossed a variety of genres in both television and films, his deadpan delivery would make him the "Olivier of spoofs" (in the words of film critic Roger Ebert). His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian.
Even though I knew every line in the 'Airplane' and 'Naked Gun' movies, they never got old. Nor did Nielsen, so it seemed, his white helmet of hair leaving him almost unfairly frozen in time. It was with great sadness that I learned of Nielsen's passing on Sunday at the age of 84.
"Surely you can't be serious?" I screamed at the heavens.
"I am serious," replied a voice in my head, quoting the line from 'Airplane', "And don't call me Shirley."
RIP Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen dead, you say?
ReplyDeleteDamn!
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
I saw that in the news this morning. He had quite the career!
ReplyDeleteAnother legend gone. At least we'll always have Airplane, the Naked Gun series, and everything else he did in his run. RIP.
ReplyDeleteWhat's amazing, he was in his fifties before his "comedic" career started. Everyone (including me) forgets all the years as a dramatic actor.
ReplyDeleteAnother of my favorite exhanges, from one of the Naked Gun movies:
"He had dark hair and a moustache. About six feet."
"That's an awfully big moustache..."
Leslie Nielsen had great comic delivery, probably in part because he looked like such a serious actor. I've seen him in earlier movies and TV shows where he played serious roles and it's hard to watch them without thinking of his later comic roles.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out