In case you haven’t heard, Leslie Nielsen, the brilliantly funny actor that starred in the Naked Gun flicks and Airplane, passed away last night due to complications from pneumonia.
If you’re too young to know about Nielsen, you’ll know his impact on the world of slapstick parody movies as the Scary Movie series is an unfunny, inbred offspring of the hilarious films Nielsen starred in. I used to watch Naked Gun almost every day when it came on HBO and was pretty much attached to any movie Nielsen was in. I’m talking about the bad ones: Dracula: Dead And Loving It, Spy Hard and Wrongfully Accused. Yes, it was that serious for me.
But the moment I’ll most remember Leslie Nielsen for was his involvement with WWF in 1994 as a detective trying to find the whereabouts of The Undertaker. These were classic vignettes that are fittingly campy for the mid-’90s WWF.
R.I.P.
![[avatar]](http://p.uproxxcdn.com/global/images/default-avatar.jpg){kind=avatar}
![[image]](http://cdn.tss.uproxx.com/TSS/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2012/02/Dolewite-Scooby-main-150x74.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.tss.uproxx.com/TSS/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2012/02/whitney-houston-475-150x71.jpg)
yeah, heard this late last night, kinda messed me up for a second. dude really made the world laugh. not alot of people can do that nowadays. folks just be cussing and being vulgar and calling it “comedy”
Maurice hit the nail on the head, Leslie Nielsen could make people of all backgrounds laugh in a genuine way without resorting to being crude, and that’s a major skill. Speaking from personal experience, I was born in the states but most of the older heads in my fam (not mom n dad but virtually all my aunts/uncles/older cousins/grandparents) were born in either Mexico or Puerto-Rico and they still retain a very foreign, immigrant-y (madeup words ftw) sense of cultural references, knowledge, and humor. That is to say, they still watch mostly Spanish-language movies, television shows and news, listen to Spanish music, and don’t really “get” or understand a lot of American humor or cultural references. Decades later and it’s still foreign to them and they don’t understand why most things we consider funny are funny. But Leslie was one of the few entertainers I know for a fact that transcended that for them (another being John Leguizamo but he has Latino-ness as an advantage, they also liked pro wrestling haha, as well as Jack Nicholson but he’s just the man in general lol). They all love those Naked Gun flicks and Airplane, it was the kind of humor anyone can enjoy. R.I.P. Leslie.
BTW – When I saw this article was written by Doble-D I already knew the Leslie Nielsen WWF video would be in here. Lol. I actually went to that summerslam (Taker versus Taker) it was here at the UC in Chicago, first event ever in the arena. Bret Hart got his ass whooped by Owen (R.I.P.) and the British Bulldog (R.I.P.) the steel cage and Owen was fucking up Hart brothers trying to climb in the cage too. 9 year old me went ham.
R.I.P. Leslie!!!!
rip man that’s a classic line right there
“now can you fly this plane?”
“surely you cant be serious”
“I am serious… and don’t call me Shirley”
Yeah, this guy was hilarious. Like David, I’d have to watch those Naked Gun movies every time they came on TV. Those were the good ol’ days when OJ was loved and adored lol. Gotta give Airplane its credit too. That will always be a classic in my eyes.
I hadn’t heard from him in years, but even still, I have to pay respects to a guy who was funny as hell. R.I.P.
I’m pretty sure the first time i cried laughing was watching one of his movies.
I was always a fan of Leslie Neilson’s work in Airplane and the Naked Gun series, as well as – to a lesser extent – his various other comedy roles. My opinion was slightly soured of him, however, in middle school when we were forced to watch a Neilson-hosted anti-marijuana video which showed him in a less-than-stellar light. He came off as not only anti-drug, but anti-personal choice, a staunch Republican and kind of a dick. If you can find the footage I suggest you watch it if only for the unintentional comedy of it. Having said that, he was a funny man. I’ll remember his for his body of work and regret to have lost such a funny human being.
RIP, always used to watch his movies on TV as a kid.
Ed Hocken: You sure know your boxing.
Lt. Frank Drebin: All I know is never bet on the white guy.
RIP
RIP to a truly great Canadian & overall funny dude.
rip, I remember laughing and rewinding certain parts of spy hard until we broke the vcr one time lol
“I used to watch Naked Gun almost every day when it came on HBO and was pretty much attached to any movie Nielsen was in. I’m talking about the bad ones: Dracula: Dead And Loving It, Spy Hard and Wrongfully Accused.”
===========================================
Same with me. He could never do any wrong, even in awful movies.
Spy Hard ftw.
“- Surely there must be something you can do.
– I’m doing everything I can. And stop calling me Shirley!”
Class act…
Time 2 watch Airplane.
The thing is, that when a comedian dies, a huge sadness overcomes a wide range of people. However, the good part, is the revisit of one’s work, which eventually gives you that laughter and happiness that you remember. It lasts an eternity…
Only seen him in “Scary Movie 4″, but I will now have to check all of his other movies(Naked Gun is 1st). My following moments would be of sure laughter and joy from watching what I miss. Ya’see? It will always end with glee.
Many blessings.