The Director of The Empire Strikes Back, Irvin Kershner

Sorry about that. Didn't mean to offend anyone if I did. In any case he was a nice guy, even to the lesser actors like us.
All I was trying to say was, for me, Nielsen is up their wit Jack Nicholson and Brando...
maybe why I drunkenly added "American". Very sad.

And now Irvin Kershner...
damn...
who's gonna be number three?

I do. Though you got this bass-ackwards. It was the series that came first.

And I see nothing "sad" with Mr. Nielsen being remembered the way he is. It's exactly why he was and will be loved. As the sentiment dating back to Shakespearean days claims: "Drama is hard. Yet comedy is harder." And Leslie Nielsen, he was a master.

From Esquire's 2008 "What I've Learned" interview with Nielsen:


And from the Times:


Apparently he did a one-man show as Clarence Darrow in the 1990s, the same one Henry Fonda did back in the 1970s. I hadn't known that.

Goddamn! :mad:

:( the greatest sequel of all time

Well said and arguably the best of the SW movies.

Don't worry, Gonzo, no offense taken. I just wanted to point out his nationality because, all too often, many Canadian celebrities are mistaken as being American.;)
Yes, you're absolutely right. My memory failed me and I should have said that "Police Squad" was a pre-cursor to the "Naked Gun" movies.:o Funny show and nice to know that someone else remembers it!
A "master"?:confused: To quote "Airplane": Surely, you can't be serious? The man was an actor reading lines from a script and fumbled around. Calling him a master at comedy is giving too much credit. As for "sad", I guess you didn't see the TV commercials that I did which had Leslie Nielsen tripping over his own feet, bumping into things, etc. Did you ever see "Spy Hard"? That was terrible!:down:

Re: "exactly why he was and will be loved" is relative. Personally, I'll remember him much more for his appearances in '70s TV shows (and his bit in "Viva Knievel") rather than the foolish characters he played in the 2nd half of his career.

Canadiens ARE Americans!:p

Police Squad was pretty funny, always loved the boxing episode where they kidnapped the boxers girl and had her Washer/Dryer/Blender ringside as proof.

Had to laugh when he popped up on an episode of Bonanza.:hat:

My daughter laughed herself silly when Frances from Pee Wee's Big Adventure identified him as Enrico Pallazzo!

Umm, I honestly think The Dark Knight stole that honor...for me, at least.

Isn't that like the 7th in the series, though? :p ;)

I consider Nolan's trilogy to be its own franchise, seeing how different it is from prior incarnations.

Bob Feller, age 92, appeared in the 1949 film "The Kid from Cleveland".

He was also a pretty good Cleveland Indians baseball player.

:)

Blake Edwards, 88, director of the "Pink Panther" films.

Before switching to comedies, he directed two pretty good films
with Lee Remick, "The Days of Wine and Roses", and "Experiment in Terror".

:)

Guess it's a case of your mileage may vary. I'm partial to minimalistic comedy. I always liked the fact that Nielsen didn't exactly overact, but more like toned his reactions down. Even in the most absurd of situations, he was like it was just another day in the office for him (which it naturally was, in a sense). And if he was just repeating lines from the script for the most part of his later career, I guess I must applaud him even more since his timing, for the most part, was spot-on.

There was a dip in the quality of his work from 90s onwards, with that I agree. His age was catching up with him, that much was evident. Maybe he should have quit after the last Naked Gun movie.

I met Feller a few times, being from Cleveland. Occasionally cantankerous, but he's a legend, both in the town and in the game. He's more or less the last great from that era still around, from any team. And, of course, he also gave up four years in the prime of his playing career to serve in the Pacific, having enlisted on December 8, 1941. This is the best take on him I've seen yet, from Joe Posnanski. There's also this account of the time he pitched a fastball faster than a cop on a Harley Davidson, in a test devised by Major League Baseball. Rest in peace, Mr. Feller.



Days of Wine and Roses is probably the film of his I regard most highly, since I have difficulty getting past Mickey Rooney in what's usually seen as his best film, Breakfast at Tiffany's. Remick was great in that, as was, as he always is, Jack Lemmon. Sure, it's a message picture, but there's some indelible moments in that film.

Like Feller, he was one of the last of his era, survived, of course, by Julie Andrews, his wife of forty-some years.

RIP Blake Edwards . . .

This is very sad, I heart Pink Panther!

R.I.P. Grant McCune
 

This article pretty much sums it up:

Aw man, The Man. I wonder if Keyser Söze got to him. R.I.P.

I tried to investigate that very possibility...but somebody castrated my nephew.

Actress Anne Francis, who was the love interest in the 1950s
science-fiction classic "Forbidden Planet" and later was a
sexy private eye in "Honey West" on TV, has died at age 80.

Her "Forbidden Planet" co-star, Leslie Nielsen, died recently.

:(

Damn. I'll always love him as Roland from The Lost World: Jurassic Park. RIP, sir. :hat:

That smilie should have a somber face, not a grin. :(

Cancer... how sad, so many people, and we are still trying to understand it.