By Malice Intended

Sometimes the true abilities of a gifted performer take a long time to manifest themselves.  Plenty of people in the creative arts are encouraged to play against their strengths by handlers who supposedly “know better.”   Somewhere down the line, they are teamed with someone who can see their potential and use it to its full advantage.  Once that potential bears fruit, it’s truly a sight to see.  Leslie Nielson was a performer like that.  He was a more than capable dramatic actor, as his resume readily shows.  However, he harbored a wholly different skill that served him extremely well in the latter half of his career. 

Leslie Nielson was born on February 11^th, 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.  He was inspired to try his hand in the acting business by his half uncle Jean Hersholt, who had considerable success in the field. After receiving a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City, he earned his first television role.  During the golden age of television, he became known primarily as a dramatic actor.  He made his big screen debut in 1956, when he starring in the musical The Vagabond King.  Nielson’s next role would endear him to genre fans the world over.  He starred as Commander John J. Adams in the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet.  The film was a resounding success, and greatly elevated Nielson’s visibility as an actor.

Nielson signed on for a long term contract with Forbidden Planet’s distributor, MGM studios.  Dissatisfied with the quality of projects he had been offered during his tenure at the studio, he eventually left to seek his fortune elsewhere, and found himself working on variety of film and television productions.

In 1980, Nielson found what turned out to be his true calling when he joined the cast of the disaster movie spoof Airplane! His hilarious turn as Dr. Alan Rumack reintroduced him to audiences as a gifted comedic actor.  The film went on to become a box office smash, and set the tone for virtually every satire or spoof made in the last 30 years.  Airplane! was directed by David and Jerry Zucker, who would continue to cast Nielson in a number of projects throughout the coming decades.

The Zucker brothers decided to try and bring their surrealist brand of slapstick to the small screen.  They cast Nielsen as Police Officer Frank Drebin in the series Police Squad! which parodied the brand of ultra serious police dramas that had always been a staple of prime time television.  It failed to connect with audiences and was cancelled after just six episodes.

Six years later, The Zucker brothers decided to give the idea another try.  Leslie Nielson would reprise his role as the ever aloof and bungling Drebin.  The film was hilariously titled The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! It did the television series one better; including sexual and scatological humor that surely would not have been allowed on television at the time.  It also gave Nielson a showcase for his abilities as a physical comedian.  Audiences the world over responded enthusiastically, driving the film to box office gross of over 78 million dollars.  Two sequels followed, and by the mid 1990’s Nielson had become synonymous with the character.

[pro-player width=’425′ height=’344′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo7qoonzTCE[/pro-player]

Nielson’s newfound popularity proved to be both a blessing and curse.  He began trying to replicate the success of the Naked Gun films in various other spoofs, none of which really connected with the viewing public.  After starring in a string of forgettable comedies, he reunited with David Zucker for the third and fourth installments of the Scary Movie franchise.   Nielson continued to be active well into his 80’s.  On November 28^th, 2010, Leslie Nielson died in his sleep due to complications from Pneumonia.  He was 84 years old.

Though Leslie Nielson never achieved mega-stardom as a dramatic lead, he still managed to leave a considerable mark on the world. Though this metamorphosis took place rather late in his life and career, Frank Drebin became one of the funniest and most memorable characters in the history of cinema.  That is a contribution to be proud of.  Rest in peace, Mr. Nielson, you will surely be missed. And we’re not calling you Shirley.

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