R.I.P. Leslie Neilsen

Very sad news this morning that Canadian actor Leslie Neilsen has died, aged 84.

Neilsen started as a serious actor in the 1940s, and did straight roles right up until the 70s, including playing the captain in the original version of the Poseidon Adventure. However, it was his role in the 1980 spoof disaster move "Airplane" which really turned his career around. He had amazing deadpan comic timing and really stole the movie.

"Surely you can't be serious?" "I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

"We need to get this man to a hospital" "A hospital, what is it?" "It's a big building with doctors and nurses, but that's not important right now"

Airplane was followed by the TV series "Police Squad" which in turn spawned the Naked Gun series of movies, and then a series of other slapstick comic movies in his later career. While its true that some of these weren't classics (Dracule Dead and Loving it, for example) the fact remains that he was a fantastic comedy fool, and its a very sad loss.

Also, most people think of him purely as a comedic actor, but he was also a surprisingly great serious character actor as well.

I loved Airplane and Naked Gun as much as everyone else, but I think that one of his stand out performances, for me, was an absolutely brilliant and charasismatically creepy portrayal of the incredibly effective and unsettling villain in the "Something To Tide You Over" segment of the original Creepshow movie.

His acting, and that character which he very much made his own was definitely one of biggest highlights in the film. There's not too many actors that I can say, are able to make something as simple as whistling "Camptown Races" seem genuinely disturbing and sinister, as well as someone who had a gift for comedy as is well known.

He was an incredibly talented, classically trained, very amazing actor who possessed a distinct charm, a profoundly effective sense of timing and subtlety and took his craft seriously whether he was playing the comedy he was known for, or the serious acting ability that he was sadly underrated for as well.

He will very much be missed.

Nielson was also a good leading man, in his day. The Forbidden Planet movie, where he played the hero, was a good example of what he could turn his hand to. I can't say that I was a fan of all his films - Repossesed and Dracula: Dead and Loving it stand out in my thoughts - but when he was good he was very good.