The face of a comedy brand that took Hollywood by surprise in the 1980’s, Saskatchewan’s own Leslie Nielsen would’ve turned 100 today.
Born on Feb. 11, 1926, in Regina, Nielsen’s prolific career in film and television can be divided into two distinct eras.
For his first two and half decades in the film business, Nielsen embodied leading men and authority figures. One of his most famous roles was the lead in the 1956 sci-fi epic Forbidden Planet.
Various supporting roles on the silver screen and a long list of guest spots on the small screen through the 1960’s and 1970’s kept Nielsen busy. Features throughout this period included the ship’s captain in The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and the mayor in City on Fire (1979).
Nielsen’s renaissance began in 1980 with his turn as Dr. Rumack in Airplane!. Nielsen’s straight man performance in the legendary slapstick comedy not only spawned numerous quotes uttered to this day (I am serious … and don’t call me Shirley) but contributed to launching the careers of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker.
The writer-director trio would go on to helm Nielsen’s other namesake of the period, The Naked Gun film series, which was adapted from the short-lived television series Police Squad!
The son of an RCMP officer, Nielsen trained as an aerial gunner in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War before pursuing a career in radio. First in Calgary before moving to Toronto and finally New York to study acting at the Neighbourhood Playhouse.
Nielsen did have a familial connection to the business, as his uncle was celebrated performer Jean Hersholt.
In terms of their career trajectories though, there is possibly no wider divide than the one between Nielsen and his elder brother Erik. While Nielsen would become a household name for his buffoonish turn as Inspector Frank Drebin of Police Squad, Erik would ascend to the upper echelons of Canadian politics, serving as Deputy Prime Minister under Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative government.
However, the two brothers certainly did share a deep connection to their home.
While a naturalized American citizen at the time his passing, Nielsen was certainly a proud Canadian, telling CBC News in a conversation later in his career:
“Canada is in these bones … you know, you can take me out of the country, but you can never take the country out of me.”
Nielsen died on Nov. 28, 2010, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 84.
