I was saddened today to hear that Leslie Nielsen had died. He was one of the funniest men on the planet. There’s more here.
Leslie Nielsen Dies
He’s probably most famous for his roles in Police Squad, and the subsequent Naked Gun films, and also the Airplane films. But he also did some serious acting – one of my favourites was Forbidden Planet, even if it was always difficult to watch that with a straight face after all the Naked Gun stuff.
He was 84, and died as a result of pneumonia.
On the news tonight, I was also surprised to see that he auditioned for the lead in Ben Hur – subsequently taken up by Charlton Heston.
I remember coming across the Police Squad show in the 80s. It was shown without fanfare in the early evening and it cracked me up. It was one of those things you didn’t realise was a comedy to start with, and then it just hit you. Leslie really had a gift, yet he was nearly 60 when his comedy genius was first noticed.
The sad thing is: you don’t replace people like him.