LESLIE NIELSEN Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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LESLIE NIELSEN

Name: Leslie William Nielsen                                                   
Born: 11 February 1926 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada                             
                                                                               
Leslie William Nielsen OC (born February 11, 1926) is a Canadian-American Emmy 
Award-nominated comedian and actor. He is well known for his roles as Frank     
Drebin in The Naked Gun, Dr. Rumack in Airplane! and most recently President   
Harris in the Scary Movie series. Although Nielsen's acting career crossed a   
variety of genres in both television and movies, he has achieved his greatest   
film success in comedies, including Airplane! and The Naked Gun series of films.
His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious of (and complicit in)   
their absurd surroundings gave Nielsen a reputation as a comedian. A series     
of later comedies attempted to emulate the popularity of his prior roles.       
                                                                               
This paralleled the serious roles of his early career. Leading roles in the     
science fiction classic Forbidden Planet and as the ship's captain in The       
Poseidon Adventure came long before Nielsen considered a turn to comedy. His   
deadpan delivery as a doctor in 1980's Airplane! marked a turning point in     
Nielsen's career, one that would make him, in the words of movie critic Roger   
Ebert, "the Olivier of spoofs."