Leslie Nielsen died today at age 84. Without a doubt he was one of my favorite comedic actors and as a 10 year old one of the funniest actors in Hollywood. After starting off as a serious actor he found his true calling, comedy.
I first saw him and his famous white hair in the movie “Naked Gun”. I may not have caught all of his subtle jokes till I was older but of what I did catch I loved and wanted more. I found out that he stared in, and what was already a cult movie classic, “Airplane”. What I enjoyed most about his comedy, as shown in these two movies, is how serious his characters were which just added to the laughter.
I never met the man but I was lucky enough to be part of the crowd in a bull arena for the opening scene of “Naked Gun 2 1/2″. But just by watching him in some of this interviews, I knew that I would like him not only as an actor but as a person. It goes without saying that “Police Squad” will miss him, “Ted Striker” will miss him, and so will I.
His agent John S. Kelly said of Nielsen,
“We are saddened by the passing of beloved actor Leslie Nielsen, probably best remembered as Lt. Frank Drebin in ‘The Naked Gun’ series of pictures, but who enjoyed a more than 60-year career in motion pictures and television,” said Kelly.
