Leslie William Nielsen was a Canadian Actor and Comedian appearing as over 200 character across over 250 films and shows.

He made his acting debut in 1950 on tv, and in 1956 starred in his first film “The Vagabond King”, a musical directed by Michael Curtiz. The film was not very successful, but lead to an offer by producer Nicholas Nayfack to addition for “Forbidden Planet”, a science fiction film that allowed him to take on a long contact with Metrol-Goldwyn (MGM). With the success of Forbidden Planet, Leslie landed roles in other films by MGM, eventually leading to getting a role in Tammy and the Bachelor. The role lead him to be known, as one Chicago Tribune Critic wrote, a handsome romantic lead and dramatic actor.

In 1959 Nielsen left MGM studios after beginning to become dissatisfied with the roles he was being offered. By the end of the year he signed on as the lead role in a Disney mini series “The Swamp Fox” as Francis Marion. He continued to star in many more projects in the 60’s and 70’s, until his last dramtic role before jumping into mostly comedy roles was the Canadian disaster film “City on Fire” in 1977.

His turning point in his career, forever cementing Nielsen in comedy movies came with a single line, “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley”, in the 1980 film “Airplane!” The line later was included at number 79 in the American Film Institute's AFI 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes in 2010. The film was in AFI’s top 10 Comedies, Empire voted it number 1 in the 50 Funniest Comedies Ever, and in 2010 it selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Nielsen had said he had always wanted to do comedy, despite being known for dramatic roles, and continued his streak starring as Frank Drebin in the TV series Police Squad, landing a Nielsen an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Six years after Police Squad! was canceled, the film Naked Gun: Files of Police Squad was released with Nielsen taking his role of Frank Drebin. It was followed by 2 sequels, The Naked Gun 2 1/2 The Smell of Fear, and Nakes Gun 33 1/3 The Final Insult.

In 1994 he briefly appeared on WWF to unravel the mystery of The Undertaker as Frank Drebin alongside George Kennedy. He starred in a few more paradoy type comedies such as Repossessed, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It, but they preformed poorly in the theaters. His roles in children comedies did not perform well and disappointed critics. It wasn’t until 2003 in his role as President Harris in Scary Movie 3 Nielsen found success amongst critics leading him to appear in Scary Movie 4 as Harris again. He continued snagging roles in the 2000’s until his final movie Stonerville in 2011 in which he played “Producer”.

In November of 2010 Nielsen passed in his sleep after being admitted to Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, FL with pneumonia. His tombstone reading “Let ‘er rip” in true Nielsen fashion.