KC
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« Reply #280 on: November 28, 2010, 07:22:25 PM » |
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KC
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« Reply #284 on: November 28, 2010, 09:29:11 PM » |
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Here's the New York Times obit for Leslie Nielsen: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/nyregion/29nielsen.htmlAs the article reminds us, Nielsen's career began with dramatic roles, and before he changed course 180° with 1980's Airplane, his best-known role may have been as the earnest hero of the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet. Here's a couple of excerpts: In keeping with his adopted comic persona, when Mr. Nielsen in 1993 published an autobiography, “Naked Truth,” it was one that cheerfully, blatantly fabricated events in his life.
They included two Academy Awards, an affair with Elizabeth Taylor and a stay at a rehabilitation center, battling dopey-joke addiction.
In real life he was nominated twice for Emmy Awards, in 1982 as outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for “Police Squad!” and in 1988 as outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for an episode of “Day by Day,” an NBC sitcom about yuppies and day care.
Off screen, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor, in 2002. In a 1988 interview with The New York Times, Leslie Nielsen discussed his career-rejuvenating transition to comedy, a development that he had recently described as “too good to be true.”
“It’s been dawning on me slowly that for the past 35 years I have been cast against type,” he said, “and I’m finally getting to do what I really wanted to do.”
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KC
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« Reply #293 on: December 01, 2010, 07:36:15 AM » |
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« Reply #296 on: December 03, 2010, 07:09:29 PM » |
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Doug
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« Reply #297 on: December 04, 2010, 05:48:09 AM » |
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One of the most significant tributes comes from David Zucker: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/airplane-naked-gun-s-david-49908 At least audiences had heard of the first three, but this guy -- it was true, when it came time to select an actor to play Dr. Rumack, my brother Jerry, Jim Abrahams and I remembered: "This one guy, he's been in hundreds of television shows, and I think he played the captain of the Poseidon. What's his name … ?" Our research revealed that the actor's name was Leslie Nielsen. Jim, Jerry and I were thrilled when he agreed to meet, not because he was "funny" but because of his long résumé of serious films and TV. To us, he was hysterical. The long list of straight dramatic acting roles demonstrated to us that he would be perfect. When we watched those movies, we laughed.
At our first meeting, he mentioned proudly that he had done an episode of M*A*S*H*.
We assured him we wouldn't count this brief comedy experience against him. But when he read the Airplane! script, he "got" its unconventional nature and offbeat style. We heard later that he told his agent, "Take whatever they offer; I'd pay them to do this."
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"Yes, well, when I see five weirdos dressed in togas stabbing a guy in the middle of a park in full view of a hundred people, I shoot the bastards, that's my policy." Frank Drebin, Police Squad.
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