Although his career stretches back half a century and includes over 100 films and countless TV programs, Leslie Nielsen gained true fame late in his career, when he starred in a series of comic spoofs beginning with 1980's Airplane!.
The son of a Canadian Mountie and the brother of Canada's future Deputy Prime Minister, Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, on February 11, 1926. He developed an early knack for acting when he was forced to lie to his disciplinarian father in order to avoid punishment, and he went on to become a radio announcer after serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII (despite being legally deaf, the result of a childhood illness). To prepare himself for his future career, Nielsen studied at Toronto's Academy of Radio Arts, which was run by CBC commentator and future Bonanza star Lorne Greene. After several years in radio, he won a scholarship to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, where he studied acting under Sanford Meisner and dance under Martha Graham. He then spent five years appearing on such live television programs as Tales From Tomorrow before making his film bow in Ransom! (1956). With the exception of his starring roles in the sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet (1956) and the popular Debbie Reynolds-vehicle Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), much of Nielsen's early work was undistinguished; he was merely a handsome leading man in an industry overstocked with handsome leading men. An attempt to do a "Davy Crockett" by starring as Francis Marion in the Disney TV saga The Swamp Fox resulted in a nifty title tune but little else. Nielsen went on to star in such series as The New Breed, Bracken's World, and Hawaii Five-O (1968), but found he was more in demand as a heavy than as a hero.
A notorious offscreen practical joker and cut-up, Nielsen was not given an onscreen conduit for this trait until he was cast in the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker spoof Airplane (1980). This led to his deadpan characterization of monumentally inept police lieutenant Frank Drebin on Z.A.Z.'s cult TV series Police Squad, which in turn spawned the 1988 hit The Naked Gun and two sequels. Nielsen also found success in a number of other film spoofs, so much, in fact, that those familiar only with his loopy comedy roles are invariably surprised that, once upon a time, he took himself deadly seriously in films like Harlow (1965) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Nielsen died at the age of 84, of pneumonia, in late November 2010.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Stonerville
Actor |
2010 | |||
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An American Carol
Actor |
2008 | |||
| 2008 | ||||
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Superhero Movie
Actor |
2008 | |||
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Robson Arms: Season 02
Actor |
2007 | |||
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Game$how Marathon [TV Series]
Participant |
2006 | |||
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Scary Movie 4
Actor |
2006 | |||
| 2004 | ||||
|
amazinGross: The Life and Times of Paul Gross
Interviewee |
2004 | |||
|
Noel Noel
Voice |
2003 | |||
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Scary Movie 3
Actor |
2003 | |||
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Men with Brooms
Actor |
2002 | |||
|
2001: A Space Travesty
Actor, Executive Producer, Screenwriter |
2001 | |||
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Chilly Dogs
Actor |
2001 | |||
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Camouflage
Actor |
2000 | |||
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Santa Who?
Actor |
2000 | |||
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Pirates: 3-D Show
Actor |
1999 | |||
| 1999 | ||||
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Harvey
Actor |
1998 | |||
| 1998 | ||||
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Safety Patrol
Actor |
1998 | |||
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Wrongfully Accused
Actor |
1998 | |||
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Family Plan
Actor |
1997 | |||
| 1997 | ||||
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Mr. Magoo
Actor |
1997 | |||
| 1996 | ||||
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Spy Hard
Actor, Executive Producer |
1996 | |||
| 1995 | ||||
| 1995 | ||||
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Rent-A-Kid
Actor |
1995 | |||
| 1995 | ||||
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Due South: Manhunt
Actor |
1994 | |||
| 1994 | ||||
| 1994 | ||||
| 1993 | ||||
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Surf Ninjas
Actor |
1993 | |||
| 1993 | ||||
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Digger
Actor |
1992 | |||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
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All I Want for Christmas
Actor |
1991 | |||
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Chance of a Lifetime
Actor |
1991 | |||
| 1991 | ||||
| 1991 | ||||
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Repossessed
Actor |
1990 | |||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
|
Saturday Night Live: Leslie Nielsen
TV Guest Appearance |
1989 | |||
| 1988 | ||||
|
Dangerous Curves
Actor |
1988 | |||
|
The Naked Gun
Actor |
1988 | |||
| 1987 | ||||
|
Nightstick
Actor |
1987 | |||
|
Nuts
Actor |
1987 | |||
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Square Dance
Actor |
1987 | |||
|
Striker's Mountain
Actor |
1987 | |||
| 1986 | ||||
|
Soul Man
Actor |
1986 | |||
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The Patriot
Actor |
1986 | |||
|
Blade in Hong Kong
Actor |
1985 | |||
| 1985 | ||||
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Foxfire Light
Actor |
1984 | |||
|
Reckless Disregard
Actor |
1984 | |||
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Cave-In!
Actor |
1983 | |||
|
Ark on the Move
Producer |
1982 | |||
|
Creepshow
Actor |
1982 | |||
|
More! Police Squad
Actor |
1982 | |||
|
Wrong Is Right
Actor |
1982 | |||
|
The Creature Wasn't Nice
Actor |
1981 | |||
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Airplane!
Actor |
1980 | |||
|
OHMS
Actor |
1980 | |||
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Prom Night
Actor |
1980 | |||
| 1980 | ||||
| 1979 | ||||
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Cave-In!
Actor |
1979 | |||
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Institute for Revenge
Actor |
1979 | |||
|
Riel
Actor |
1979 | |||
|
City on Fire
Actor |
1978 | |||
|
Little Mo
Actor |
1978 | |||
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Day of the Animals
Actor |
1977 | |||
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Grand Jury
Actor |
1977 | |||
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Project: Kill!
Actor |
1977 | |||
|
Sixth and Main
Actor |
1977 | |||
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The Amsterdam Kill
Actor |
1977 | |||
|
Viva Knievel!
Actor |
1977 | |||
| 1976 | ||||
|
S.W.A.T.: Pilot
Actor |
1975 | |||
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Can Ellen Be Saved?
Actor |
1974 | |||
| 1974 | ||||
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Kojak: Loser Takes All
Actor |
1974 | |||
| 1974 | ||||
| 1973 | ||||
| 1973 | ||||
|
The F.B.I.: Fool's Gold
Actor |
1973 | |||
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The Letters
Actor |
1973 | |||
| 1973 | ||||
| 1973 | ||||
| 1973 | ||||
|
Al Oeming - Man of the North
Producer |
1972 | |||
|
M*A*S*H: The Ringbanger
Actor |
1972 | |||
|
Snatched
Actor |
1972 | |||
|
The Poseidon Adventure
Actor |
1972 | |||
| 1971 | ||||
|
They Call It Murder
Actor |
1971 | |||
|
Hauser's Memory
Actor |
1970 | |||
| 1970 | ||||
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Night Slaves
Actor |
1970 | |||
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The Aquarians
Actor |
1970 | |||
|
Change of Mind
Actor |
1969 | |||
|
Deadlock
Actor |
1969 | |||
|
Four Rode Out
Actor |
1969 | |||
|
How to Commit a Marriage
Actor |
1969 | |||
|
Trial Run
Actor |
1969 | |||
|
Dayton's Devils
Actor |
1968 | |||
|
How to Steal the World
Actor |
1968 | |||
|
Shadow Over Elveron
Actor |
1968 | |||
| 1967 | ||||
|
Code Name: Heraclitus
Actor |
1967 | |||
|
Companions in Nightmare
Actor |
1967 | |||
|
Counterpoint
Actor |
1967 | |||
|
Gunfight in Abilene
Actor |
1967 | |||
|
Rosie!
Actor |
1967 | |||
| 1967 | ||||
|
The Reluctant Astronaut
Actor |
1967 | |||
|
Beau Geste
Actor |
1966 | |||
|
The Plainsman
Actor |
1966 | |||
|
Dark Intruder
Actor |
1965 | |||
|
Harlow
Actor |
1965 | |||
|
See How They Run
Actor |
1965 | |||
| 1965 | ||||
| 1965 | ||||
|
Night Train to Paris
Actor |
1964 | |||
| 1964 | ||||
| 1964 | ||||
| 1963 | ||||
| 1961 | ||||
| 1961 | ||||
| 1961 | ||||
| 1960 | ||||
| 1960 | ||||
| 1960 | ||||
| 1960 | ||||
| 1960 | ||||
| 1959 | ||||
| 1959 | ||||
| 1959 | ||||
| 1958 | ||||
|
The Sheepman
Actor |
1958 | |||
|
Hot Summer Night
Actor |
1957 | |||
|
Tammy and the Bachelor
Actor |
1957 | |||
|
Forbidden Planet
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
Ransom
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
The Opposite Sex
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
The Vagabond King
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
The Battle of Gettysburg
Voice |
1955 | |||
| 1950 |



















































