Bio: Leslie William Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and raised in Tulita (formerly Fort Norman), Northwest Territories. His mother, Mabel Elizabeth (Davies), was Welsh. His father, Ingvard Eversen Nielsen, was a Danish-born Mountie and a strict disciplinarian. Leslie studied at the Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto before moving on to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. His acting career started at a much earlier age when he was forced to lie to his father in order to avoid severe punishment. Leslie starred in over fifty films and many more television films. One of his two brothers became the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. On October 10, 2002, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) in recognition of his contributions to the film and television industries. On November 28, 2010, Leslie Nielsen died at age 84 of pneumonia and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Tivia: At age 17, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained as an aerial gunner.Following his death, he was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a final piece of humor, he chose "Let 'er rip" as his epitaph.May have been the first "Trekkie". According to Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) story editor and screenwriter D.C. Fontana, Nielsen called the production office the morning after the first episode and offered high praise. Star Trek was partially inspired by Nielsen's classic Forbidden Planet (1956).Became a naturalized United States citizen on November 16, 1958.His father, Ingvard Nielsen, was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer for Northwest Territory and Saskatchewan.Older brother was a high-ranking Canadian politician. Erik Nielsen was a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (1957-87) for the Yukon Territory. He served as Leader of the Opposition (1983) and later rose to become the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (1984-86). He died from a massive heart attack on September 4, 2008 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.He was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), which went to Johnny Depp.Film critic Roger Ebert once called him "the Laurence Olivier of spoofs".Director/producer Wendy Dent presented Leslie Nielsen with the final award of his career, a Lifetime Achievement Award, at the star-studded 2005 Palm Beach International Film Festival Gala at the ritzy Boca Raton Resort. The black-tie affair was attended also by Woody Harrelson, Salma Hayek and tennis stars Venus Williams and Serena Williams, but Nielsen was the talk of the night, accepting the award from Wendy Dent with a gentlemanly flirtatiousness, after he first walked the red carpet armed with a flatulence-maker in his tuxedo pocket.He was considered for the role of Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980), which went to Jack Nicholson.Was known as a practical joker on film sets.He was awarded the OC (Officer of the Order of Canada) by the Governor General of Canada on October 10, 2002 for his services to entertainment.He was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California on December 4, 1997.He has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Forbidden Planet (1956) and Airplane! (1980).He was awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario in 2001.In fall 2003, the Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada opened the Leslie Nielsen School of Communications, with the actor on hand for the ceremony.Auditioned for the role of Messala in Ben-Hur (1959), which went to Stephen Boyd.His father was Danish and his mother was Welsh.He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 9, 1988.Had one half-brother: Gilbert Nielsen who currently resides in Hobbs, New Mexico.Leslie Nielsen passed away only eight months after his Airplane! (1980) co-star, Peter Graves (who was also only a month younger than him).While in Winnipeg, Canada, to promote their movie Men with Brooms (2002), he and co-star Paul Gross received Honorary Citizenships from Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray at the Granite Curling Club.Passed away one month (just 35 days) before his Forbidden Planet (1956) co-star, Anne Francis.From the 1990's until the early 2000's every film he appeared in outside of his popular Naked Gun Franchise flopped or disappointed at the box office. He had no box office hits aside from Naked Gun 33 1/3 in 1994 until 2003 and 2006 when he took a supporting role as the President in Scary Movies 3 &4. Both were box office hits and marked a small comeback for him as a supporting actor in comedies.Attended and graduated from Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton, Alberta.Attended the Chiller Theater Expo in Parsippany, New Jersey along with actress Jamie Luner of Profiler (1996), John Schneider, Angie Dickinson, Brian O'Halloran, Danny Woodburn, David Hedison, Erik Estrada, Audra Lynn and Barry Williams on October 24, 2008.Contrary to popular belief, Airplane! (1980) was not his first comedy film, but the first film that really gave him the opportunity of being seen as a funnyman. In the decades prior, Nielsen did appear in a few comedy films (including How to Commit Marriage (1969)), but he didn't get the same recognition.Was made an "Honorary West Virginian and Ambassador of Mountain State Goodwill" on February 20, 2002, by then-Secretary of State of West Virginia Joe Manchin III, now junior United States Senator for West Virginia (elected 2010) after having served as West Virginia Governor since 2004.Leslie was 6'1 1/2 in his younger years and therefore that height in most productions. He lost some height in his later years but was still just over 6 feet when he moved here to Fort Lauderdale.He never appeared in a film nominated for Best Picture Academy Award.