Rest In Peace, [Insert Name Here]

Stoo

Well-known member
Dr. Gonzo said:
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.
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.;)
Finn said:
I do. Though you got this bass-ackwards. It was the series that came first.
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.:eek: Funny show and nice to know that someone else remembers it!
Finn said:
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.
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!(n)

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.
 
Stoo said:
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.;)
Canadiens ARE Americans!:p

Stoo said:
..."Police Squad" was a pre-cursor to the "Naked Gun" movies.:eek: Funny show and nice to know that someone else remembers it!
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.

Stoo said:
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.
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!
 

WilliamBoyd8

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

He was also a pretty good Cleveland Indians baseball player.

:)
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
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".

:)
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Stoo said:
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!(n)
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.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
WilliamBoyd8 said:
Bob Feller, age 92, appeared in the 1949 film "The Kid from Cleveland".

He was also a pretty good Cleveland Indians baseball player.

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.


WilliamBoyd8 said:
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".

<I>Days of Wine and Roses</I> 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, <I>Breakfast at Tiffany's</I>. 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.
 

Indy's brother

New member
R.I.P. Grant McCune

This article pretty much sums it up:

Oscar-winning special effects artist Grant McCune has died, aged 67.

The filmmaker passed away at his California home on Monday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

McCune was behind the shark model created for Steven Spielberg's 1975 thriller Jaws and went onto work on 1977's Star Wars, which won him the visual effects Academy Award.

He continued his career behind the scenes on films including Die Hard, Never Say Never Again, Big, Space Balls and Caddyshack and launched his own company, Grant McCune Design, working on movies such as Speed, Batman Forever, Red Planet and Spider-Man.

He is survived by his wife, Katherine, and two children, Cole and Lily.
 

The Man

Well-known member
Indy's brother said:
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.
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
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.

:(
 
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