Leslie Nielsen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leslie Nielsen
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Nielsen in 1982
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Leslie William Nielsen
11 February 1926 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
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| Died | 28 November 2010 (aged 84) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
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| Resting place | Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts |
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| Years active | 1950–2010 |
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Notable work
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| Children | 2 |
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| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Canada |
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 Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1943–1945 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
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Leslie William Nielsen (born February 11, 1926 – died November 28, 2010) was a famous Canadian actor and comedian. He had a career that lasted 60 years. During this time, he appeared in over 100 movies and 150 TV shows. He played more than 220 different characters!
Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. After high school, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943. He served until World War II ended. After leaving the military, Nielsen worked as a disc jockey. He then got a scholarship to study acting. He started acting in 1950, appearing in many live TV shows. His first movie role was in 1956. For many years, he played serious roles in dramas, westerns, and romance films.
Even though he was known as a serious actor in movies like Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure, Leslie Nielsen became super famous for his funny roles in the 1980s. This happened after he starred in the comedy movie Airplane!. In his comedy roles, Nielsen was great at playing characters who were totally unaware of the silly things happening around them. His performance in Airplane! changed his career. A film critic even called him "the Olivier of spoofs." This led to more success in comedy, especially with The Naked Gun movie series. This series was based on his TV show Police Squad!. Nielsen won many awards and was honored with stars on Canada's Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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Growing Up in Canada
Leslie Nielsen was born on February 11, 1926, in Regina, Saskatchewan. His mother, Mabel Elizabeth, was from Wales. His father, Ingvard Eversen Nielsen, was from Denmark and worked as a police officer. Leslie was the second of two boys. His older brother, Erik Nielsen, became a well-known Canadian politician. He was even the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada for a few years.
Leslie Nielsen's half-uncle, Jean Hersholt, was also an actor. He was famous for playing Dr. Christian on radio and in movies. Leslie said that when he told people about his uncle, they often didn't believe him at first. This made him think that acting might be a good career for him too.
Nielsen lived for several years in a place called Fort Norman (now Tulita) in the Northwest Territories. This was because his father worked there as a police officer. After finishing high school in Edmonton, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943 when he was 17. He trained as an aerial gunner during World War II. However, he was too young to go overseas or finish his full training.
After the war, Nielsen left the military. He worked briefly as a disc jockey at a radio station in Calgary. Then, he went to the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto to study. While studying in Toronto, he received a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He moved to New York and studied acting and music there. He also performed in summer plays. Later, he attended the Actors Studio. His first TV appearance was in 1950 on a show called Studio One. He was paid $75 for that role.
Starting His Acting Career
Leslie Nielsen's acting career began with serious roles on TV during what was called "Television's Golden Age." In 1950 alone, he appeared in 46 live TV shows. He said they didn't get paid much, only about $75 to $100 per show. He also narrated documentaries and commercials. Many people thought he was just a good-looking leading man.
In 1956, he made his first movie, a musical called The Vagabond King. Nielsen joked that it was "The Vagabond Turkey" because it wasn't very successful. However, a producer saw him and offered him an audition for a science-fiction movie called Forbidden Planet. This led to Nielsen signing a long contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios.
Forbidden Planet became a big hit right away. Nielsen then got roles in other MGM movies like Ransom! (1956) and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957). People started to see him as a serious and handsome romantic actor. But Nielsen wasn't happy with the types of movies he was offered. He felt the studios weren't making good films anymore. So, he left MGM after trying out for a role in the movie Ben-Hur.
After leaving MGM, Nielsen got the main role in a Disney TV series called The Swamp Fox. He played Francis Marion, an American Revolutionary War hero. He enjoyed this show because Disney spent more money on it. They filmed in real locations and had great costumes. Eight episodes were made between 1959 and 1961.
Nielsen also appeared in many other TV shows. These included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Bonanza. In 1968, he had a big role in the first episode of the police series Hawaii Five-O. In 1972, he played the ship's captain in the disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure. His last serious role before becoming known for comedy was in the 1979 movie City on Fire, where he played a bad mayor.
Becoming a Comedy Star
Leslie Nielsen's career took a big turn when he played Dr. Rumack in the 1980 movie Airplane!. This film was a parody, which means it made fun of disaster movies. The directors wanted actors who were known for serious roles to make the comedy even funnier. Other famous serious actors in the movie included Robert Stack and Peter Graves.
Nielsen's acting style, called "deadpan," was perfect for the movie. He would deliver funny lines with a completely straight face, which made the silly situations even funnier. One famous line from the movie is when someone asks him, "Surely you can't be serious?" and he replies, "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." This line became very famous.
Airplane! was a huge success with both critics and audiences. It is now considered one of the greatest comedy films of all time. The movie helped Leslie Nielsen become known for comedy instead of drama. The directors of Airplane! then cast him in their TV series Police Squad!. In this show, Nielsen played Frank Drebin, a funny police officer who was a parody of serious police characters.
Even though Police Squad! only had six episodes, Nielsen was nominated for an Emmy Award for his acting. Six years later, the movie The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! brought Frank Drebin back to the big screen. Nielsen did many of his own stunts in the movie. It was very successful, earning over $78 million.
The Naked Gun was so popular that it led to two sequels: The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). Both sequels also did well at the box office.
Later Comedy Roles and Other Work
After the success of Airplane! and The Naked Gun, Leslie Nielsen played similar funny roles in many other movies. These films often made fun of other popular movies. Some of them, like Scary Movie 3 (2003) and Scary Movie 4 (2006), were very popular. In these movies, he played President Harris.
Nielsen also made funny golf videos, like Bad Golf Made Easier (1993). These videos mixed comedy with golf tips. He also wrote a funny autobiography called The Naked Truth.
Even in his 80s, Nielsen continued to act. He performed in a one-man play called Darrow, where he played a famous lawyer. He also did voice-overs for cartoons, like Zeroman, where he was the main voice. He appeared in commercials and children's shows. He even played a doctor in a TV show about medicine called Doctor*Ology.
In 2008, he played a funny version of Uncle Ben in Superhero Movie, which made fun of superhero films. He also appeared in other parody movies like An American Carol (2008) and Stan Helsing (2009). His last movie role was in the Spanish comedy Spanish Movie, which parodied popular Spanish films.
Leslie Nielsen appeared in over 100 movies and 1,500 TV episodes during his long career. He played more than 220 different characters!
Personal Life and Health
Leslie Nielsen was married four times. He had two daughters, Maura and Thea, from his second marriage.
Nielsen loved to play golf. He often joked about how much he enjoyed it. His love for golf even led him to make his funny instructional golf videos.
In his later years, Leslie Nielsen and his wife Barbaree lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Nielsen was legally deaf and used hearing aids for most of his life. Because of this, he supported the Better Hearing Institute, an organization that helps people with hearing problems. He also had knee osteoarthritis later in life. He even appeared in an educational video about this condition.
Death and Legacy
In November 2010, Leslie Nielsen was admitted to a hospital in Florida because he had pneumonia. He passed away in his sleep on November 28, 2010, at the age of 84. He was surrounded by his family and friends. He was buried in Fort Lauderdale's Evergreen Cemetery. As a final joke, he chose "Let 'er rip" as the words on his gravestone.
Achievements and Honors
Leslie Nielsen received many awards during his career. In 1995, he received the Jack Benny Award from UCLA. In 1988, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2001, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. The next year, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, which is a high honor in Canada.
Even though he became an American citizen, he always felt connected to his Canadian roots. He once said, "There's no way you can be a Canadian and think you can lose it... Canadians are a goodly group. They are very aware of caring and helping." In 2005, he met Queen Elizabeth II during a celebration in his home province of Saskatchewan.
In 1997, he received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in California. In 2003, a school of communications in Canada was named after him. Also in 2003, he received the ACTRA Award of Excellence from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists.
Filmography
See also
In Spanish: Leslie Nielsen para niños
