And if you don’t know who the dude from Airplane is, or worse, have never seen said Airplane, then boy, I do not know what to tell you.
Leslie Nielsen, probably one of the great comedy actors of my time, passed away last evening at the age of 84. According to Nielsen’s agent, John Kelly, the actor was at home when he passed, after suffering complications of pneumonia, which he’d battled for two weeks prior. Leslie’s nephew, Doug, made a brief statement to a Canadian radio show, stating that his uncle had merely ‘fallen asleep’:
“Just in this last 48 hours, the infection has gotten too much. He just fell asleep and passed away.”
Nielsen starred in the Naked Gun movies, had much fame from Dracula: Dead and Loving It, and starred in one of my all-time favorite disaster movies, The Poseidon Adventure (the original one from 1972, guys, not the crap remake from 2005). Nielsen was featured in over 1500 films and will fondly be remembered by his family and his fans as one of the funniest men to come out of Canada. Or, you know, ever.
Me, I’ll always remember ‘Don’t call me Shirley,’ because my father still says it to me. What’s your favorite Leslie Nielsen movie moment?
“it’s a bad day to give up smoking…”
rip, leslie. you gave me much laughter.
From The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear:
“Oh, it’s all right. I’m sure that we can handle this situation maturely, just like the responsible adults that we are. Isn’t that right, Mr… Poopy Pants?”
Not too popular a movie, but I will always love the unstoppable Leslie Nielsen/Mel Brooks pairing, Dracula: Dead and Loving It. What! We rented it for Halloween in 8th grade! Sniffle.
“You can tell me, I’m a doctor”
and
“How soon can we land? Take a guess”
“Not for another two hours”
“You can’t take a guess for another two hours?”
I loved Leslie in Airplane, me and my family regularly just walk into a room, shout ‘I’d just like to tell you both good luck, we’re all counting on you’ and then walk back out again. He really was one of the best.