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Leslie Nielsen is a Actor and Producer American born on 11 february 1926 at Regina (Canada)

Leslie Nielsen

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Birth name Leslie William Nielsen
Nationality USA
Birth 11 february 1926 at Regina (Canada)
Death 28 november 2010 (at 84 years) at Fort Lauderdale (USA)
Awards Officer of the Order of Canada

Leslie William Nielsen, (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) was a Canadian American actor and comedian. He appeared in more than 100 films and 1500 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.

Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and later worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to study theatre at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Making his acting debut in 1948, he made more than 50 television appearances two years later. Nielsen later made his film debut in 1956, with supporting roles in several drama, western, and romance films produced between the 1950s and the 1970s, with Nielsen crossing genres in both television and films.

Although his notable performances in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure gave him standing as a serious actor, Nielsen later gained enduring recognition for his deadpan comedy roles during the 1980s and the early 1990s, after being cast against type for the Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker comedy film Airplane!. Nielsen specialized in his portrayal of characters oblivious to and complicit in their absurd surroundings, which gave him a reputation as a comedian. Airplane! marked Nielsen's turning point, which made him "the Olivier of spoofs" according to film critic Roger Ebert; his work on the film also led to more further success in the genre with The Naked Gun film series, based on their earlier short-lived television series Police Squad!, in which he also starred. Nielsen received a variety of awards and was inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame.

Biography

"I'm afraid if I don't keep moving, they're going to catch me ... I am 81 years old and I want to see what's around the corner, and I don't see any reason in the world not to keep working. But I am starting to value my down time a great deal because I am realizing there might be other things to do that I am overlooking."

—Nielsen reflecting on his career in 2007

Nielsen married four times: nightclub singer Monica Boyar (1950–1956), Alisande Ullman (1958–1973), Brooks Oliver (1981–1983) and Barbaree Earl (2001–2010). Nielsen had two daughters from his second marriage, Maura and Thea Nielsen.

Nielsen often played golf. He joked, "I have no goals or ambition. I do, however, wish to work enough to maintain whatever celebrity status I have so that they will continue to invite me to golf tournaments." His interest in the sport led him to comedic instructional films.

Nielsen was a practical joker, and known for pranking people with a portable hand-controlled fart machine: "he always had that fart machine with him." His epitaph read: "Let 'er rip", a final reference to his favorite practical joke.

Nielsen was legally deaf and wore hearing aids for most of his life. Because of this impairment, he supported the Better Hearing Institute. Later in life, Nielsen had knee osteoarthritis. He participated in an educational video from The Arthritis Research Centre of Canada (ARC), demonstrating the physical examination of a patient with knee osteoarthritis.