The Naked Gun, Dracula; Canadian-American cinema and TV actor, who is the undisputed king of Hollywood absurd humor with dozens of comedy films in which he starred, especially Dead and Happy and Airplane.
Nielsen, who appeared in more than 1500 TV programs and more than 100 movies, passed away on November 18, 2010, due to complications due to lung inflammation.
Leslie William Nielsen was born on February 28, 1926, in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His mother was Mabel Elizabeth, an Englishman of Gallic descent, and his father was Igvard Eversen Nielsen, a member of the Canadian Mounted Police.
Leslie Nielsen spent his childhood in Canada with his two siblings. Nielsen graduated from Victoria Composite High School at the age of 17 and joined the Canadian Air Force after finishing school.
Although he spent the last years of World War II in the army, he never fought on the front due to his young age and lack of adequate education. After leaving the army, Nielsen worked at local radio stations for a while, and in the following years, he attended the Lorne Greene Academy Radio Arts Department to complete his education.
Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 1926 – 28 November 2010) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.
The successful actor, who first appeared on the screen in 1948 with the TV show Studio One starring Charlton Heston, became one of the most active names of the 1950s when television experienced its golden age; So much so that in 1950 alone, he took part in more than fifty live broadcasts and appeared in many TV series.
Nielsen, who could not find a place for himself in cinema until 1956, shot his first movie on this date; Forbidden Planet. After this film, which quickly became a cult hit in the science fiction genre, Nielsen signed off on a series of successful projects, including Ransom, The Opposite Sex, and The Summer Night, and in the meantime, he did not neglect the TV industry. He appeared in many episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the most successful thriller series of the period.
After many years spent in the cinema and TV industries, Nielsen's biggest chance was the comedy movie "Airplane!" in which he starred in 1980. Airplane!, which made fun of the successful adventure movie Airport, became one of the most successful absurd comedies in history, and Naked Gun!, which would bring worldwide fame to Nielsen opened the doors of the series.
Naked Gun, which was released in 1988, grossed $78 million at the box office despite its low budget, and its sequels were not delayed; Naked Gun 2 ½ (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3 (1994). Neilsen, who had not appeared in comedy films before the Naked Gun series and Airplane films, managed to become one of the world's most well-known absurd comedy stars thanks to these films.
The most well-known works of the successful actor, who continued to make absurd comedy films after the Naked Gun series, are 2001; A Space Travesty, Dracula; Although Dead and Loving It and Spy Hard did not have good box office success in theatres, they achieved incredible sales success with their video cassette and DVD versions.
Nielsen, whose private life went through ups and downs just like his cinema career, went through a total of four marriages; The last marriage of the actor, who had two children from his marriage with his second wife Alisande Ullman, was with Barbaree Earl, which took place in 2001 and continued until the end of his life.
The great actor, who took part in more than 100 movies and more than 1500 TV programs throughout his career, died on December 28, 2010, due to complications due to lung inflammation.