Leslie Nielsen - biography, life and death of a comedian

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Perhaps today it is difficult to meet a person who has not watched at least one comedy starring Leslie Nielsen. This great actor for many decades has pleased more than one generation of viewers with his unforgettable work in the cinema. And we can say with full confidence that even after the death of the great comedian, films with his participation will be relevant and funny for a long time. We offer today to learn more about the life path and career of this talented actor.

Leslie Nielsen: biography

The future Hollywood star was born on February 11, 1926 in a small Canadian town called Regina, Saskatchewan. Leslie's mother, Mabel Elizabeth, emigrated to this country from Great Britain. His father, Ingvard Eversen, was Danish by birth and served in the Canadian Mounted Police. At birth, the boy was given the name Leslie William. He became the youngest child infamily. Interestingly, his older brother, Eric Nielsen, was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada in the eighties, and his uncle, Gene Hershlot, achieved great success in the acting field and even won two of the most prestigious Oscar film awards.

Childhood and youth

Leslie and his family spent the first years of his life in the very north of Canada in a town that looked more like a village. Food was brought here only twice a week. A few years later, the Nielsen family moved to the south of the country in the city of Edmonton, where the boys began to attend a local school.

After graduation, Leslie joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. This period just happened during the Second World War. After the end of the service, he got a job as an announcer for a local radio. As for the acting career, then, according to Leslie himself, he owes his talent to his father, who was always very strict, and the boy had to constantly lie to him, inventing more and more new fables.

First steps towards a film career

Leslie Nielsen very successfully graduated from the Lorne Green Academy of Radio, and then entered the New York Theater Neighborhood Playhouse. After that, the young man finally decided to connect his life with cinema. Therefore, in 1949, he moved to live in New York, where over the next three years he starred in a variety of television dramas, including First Studio, Hall of Fame, Climax, and others.

Leslie Nielsen: films and early career

In the middleIn the 1950s, a young actor moves to Hollywood. Here he makes his debut in the highly popular television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which aired from 1955 to 1962. Also at this time, Leslie Nielsen played a cameo role in the film "The Tramp King".

The first real hit with the participation of the actor was a film released in 1956 called "Forbidden Planet", where he brilliantly played the commander of a spaceship.

Slowly Leslie made his way on the screen. Despite the fact that for the most part at that time he got secondary and episodic roles, he did not despair, since the criticism that accompanies the release of any picture invariably paid him due attention. At that time, Nielsen took part in such films as Ransom, The Opposite Sex, The Shepherd, Bonazza, Tammy and the Bachelor and others.

In 1959, the actor had a chance to star in one of the most successful American westerns Rawhide directed by Ted Post. Leslie's partners on the set were celebrities such as Clint Eastwood, Eric Fleming, James Murdoch and Steve Raines. In the same year, Nielsen played a minor role in the TV series The Untouchables, which tells about the fight against organized crime by FBI agents.

1960s

During this period, Leslie Nielsen failed to make any significant breakthrough in his career, and his popularity, as they say, was marking time. The actor was mainly offered to play secondary characters, but in terms of the number of roles hecould give odds to many Hollywood stars. Directors and producers were happy to work with Leslie, who was adored for his reliability and excellent acting. At that time, he starred in more than 30 films, most of which, however, remained known only to a narrow circle of viewers. Among the films of this time with Nielsen's participation are Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, Harlow, Wild Wild West and Name for the Game.

1970s: career continuation and first lead role

This period became more fruitful for Leslie, however, despite his undeniable talent, he still played secondary characters. In 1971, he took part in the filming of a very popular detective series called "Colombo: The Lady Waits." The main role in the film was played by Peter Falk. A year later, the series "1983 MASH" with the participation of Nielsen, which tells about the Korean War, was released. The actor also took part in the filming of the films "Streets of San Francisco", "Recruits" and "Catastrophe of Poseidon".

In 1977, Leslie finally played his first lead role in William Girdler's thriller Animal Day. Nielsen's partners on the set were Christopher George and Linda Day George. However, then secondary roles followed again in projects that can hardly be called successful: Vegas, Fantasy Island, City on Fire and The Little Tramp.

Change roles

Either not very successful films of recent years, or the trends of the new decade, or maybe all together spurredLeslie Nielsen to move away from his usual image of a solid, phlegmatic hero and try himself in the comedy genre. Moreover, a very suitable case turned up. The actor was invited to play the role in the parody comedy of the Zucker brothers "Airplane". Brilliant work appealed to both the audience and film critics. In the same year, the actor played well in the Canadian film School Ball.

Leslie Nielsen, whose comedies were a huge success, finally found a suitable role for himself, and his career rapidly went up. So, in 1982, the film "Airplane 2: The Continuation" and the black comedy were released, where he played in a duet with the legendary Sean Connery - "Wrong is right." This was followed by shooting in the films "Twilight Theatre", "Hotel" and "Naked Space".

However, the actor continued to play not only the main roles, but also appeared in such a familiar role as a minor character. In subsequent years, such famous projects as The Naked Gun and The Naked Gun 2, Dracula: Dead and Contented, Rent a Baby, Guilty Without Guilt, and the television series Due South "".

2000s

New Millennium Leslie Nielsen met being at the zenith of fame, full of energy and creative plans. During these years, several films were released, where the actor brilliantly played the main roles. Among them are the parody comedy "The Sixth Element", the 3rd, 4th and 5th parts of the sensational "Scary Movie", "American Fairy Tale", "Very Spanish Movie" and "Movie Stan Helsing".

Private life

It is known that the actor was married four times. The last time he got married was in 2001 with Barbara Earl, a relationship with which had lasted 18 years. He has two children from his second marriage.

Leslie Nielsen died on November 28, 2010 from the effects of pneumonia. At that time, the actor was 84 years old.

Despite the fact that the great comedian is no longer with us, Leslie Nielsen, whose best films we will probably never get tired of revisiting, will always live in the hearts of grateful viewers and fans.