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| Birth Name(s) : Leslie Nielsen |
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Full Leslie Nielsen Biography
Leslie William Nielsen OC (born February 11, 1926) is a Canadian-born American Emmy Award-nominated comedian and actor. He is well known for his roles as Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun, Dr. Rumack in Airplane! and most recently President Harris in the Scary Movie Series. Although Nielsen’s acting career crossed a variety of genres in both television and movies, he has achieved his greatest film success in comedies, including Airplane! and The Naked Gun series of films. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious of (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gave Nielsen a reputation as a comedian. A series of later comedies attempted to emulate the popularity of his prior roles.
Nielsen’s career began in dramatic roles, with numerous appearances as a doctor, lawyer, or police officer. In 1950 alone, he appeared in almost 50 live programs. Nielsen reported that for his salary that there "was very little gold...we only got $75 or $100 per show." His distinctive voice narrated several documentaries and commercials. With a handful of exceptions, his early work as a dramatic actor was uneventful. All Movie Guide notes, "much of Nielsen's early work was undistinguished; he was merely a handsome leading man in an industry overstocked with handsome leading men."
Nielsen says he has appeared in over 1,500 television programs. His early television appearances include parts in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Virginian, and Wild, Wild West.His first leading role in a tv series was as American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion in Disney’s The Swamp Fox, a spin-off of the Davy Crockett series, it also featured his singing of the theme song. In 1961, he was the lead in a taut L.A. police drama called The New Breed. In 1968, he had a major role in the pilot movie for the popular police series Hawaii Five-O. In 1969, he had the leading role as a police officer in The Bold Ones: The Protectors. Nielsen also starred in the by William Girdler directed 1977 cult-classic Project: Kill.
Critics praised the movie, which proved to be a success with audiences as well. The film's directors, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, decided to choose Nielsen for the role due to his ability to play "a fish in water", stating that "You could have cast funny people and done it with everybody winking, goofing off and silly...we wanted people to be oblivious to the comedy." The directors, interested in the success of the new comedy, decided to bring the slapstick style of comedy to television. They asked Nielsen to play the lead role in their new series, Police Squad! The series introduced Nielsen as Frank Drebin, a stereotypical police officer modeled after earlier detective series.
Even in his eighties, Nielsen continues to have an active career. He performs serious roles on screen and stage (such as his one-man theatre show Darrow, playing Clarence Darrow), as well as providing voice-overs and on-camera appearances for commercials; cartoons like Zeroman where has the leading role/voice; children's shows, such as "Pumper Pups", which he narrates, in addition to comedic film roles. The sibling relationship with his elder brother, the Honourable Erik Nielsen, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, serves as the premise of an HBO mockumentary entitled The Canadian Conspiracy in which Leslie Nielsen appears, along with other prominent Canadian born media personalities. Recently, he was a celebrity contestant on CBS's Gameshow Marathon, where he played The Price is Right, Let's Make a Deal, Beat the Clock and Press Your Luck for charity.
Over the years Nielsen has portrayed over 220 characters. The following are perhaps his most famous characters that he portrayed in films and a television show.
Main Article: President Baxter Harris In 2003 he portrayed President Harris in Scary Movie 3, which was the second highest grossing movie of the Scary Movie film series. Although Nielsen did not play a big role, the character was popular enough to have producers ask Nielsen to return for Scary Movie 4. Scary Movie 3 was the first of the films in the franchise that was directed by David Zucker, part of the ZAZ, a directing group for which Nielsen had already worked for in movies like The Kentucky Fried Movie (cameo), Airplane!, and The Naked Gun.
Nielsen is a fan of golf, and plays it in his free time. In an interview he stated that "I don't play golf to feel bad, I play bad golf but I feel good."
Nielsen has stated in several interviews that he has few medical problems such as hearing impairment. Because of this impairment, he has joined the International Better Hearing Institute and has become its president.
Among his numerous awards, Leslie Nielsen received UCLA's Jack Benny Award for his comedic roles in 1995. In 2001, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Blvd, and has been inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. The following year he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, although he is also a naturalized U.S. citizen (like many celebrities, Nielsen maintains a residence in the Phoenix, Arizona area). With his American status, he still maintains his Canadian heritage: "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." On May 19, 2005, during the centennial gala of his birth province, Saskatchewan, Leslie Nielsen was introduced to HM Queen Elizabeth II. |
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