Hate to break it to you, Gonzo, but Leslie Nielsen was Canadian.
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.
That said, who else remembers the short-lived "Police Squad" TV series which was a spin-off of "The Naked Gun"?
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.
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:
Quote:
People ask me, "What would you like to be remembered by?" It really doesn't make any difference. I've done Airplane!, three Naked Guns, Wrongfully Accused, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. The way I look at it, I've built my own little pyramid and it's gonna be around for as long as people have eyes to see.
In a 1988 interview with The New York Times, Leslie Nielsen discussed his career-rejuvenating transition to comedy, a development that he had recently described as “too good to be true.”
“It’s been dawning on me slowly that for the past 35 years I have been cast against type,” he said, “and I’m finally getting to do what I really wanted to do.”
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.
Location: Neuchâtel, Switzerland (Canadian from Montreal)
Posts: 7,934
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Gonzo
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finn
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. Funny show and nice to know that someone else remembers it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finn
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"? 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!
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.
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!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stoo
..."Police Squad" was a pre-cursor to the "Naked Gun" movies. 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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stoo
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.
My daughter laughed herself silly when Frances from Pee Wee's Big Adventure identified him as Enrico Pallazzo!
A "master"? 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!
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.
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WilliamBoyd8
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".
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.
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.
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.
the greatest sequel of all time
Funny show and nice to know that someone else remembers it!
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!
