Leslie Nielsen, died on November 28, 2010 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was 84.
The Canadian-born actor died from complications from pneumonia at a hospital near his home at 5:34 p.m., surrounded by his wife, Barbaree, and friends.
Nielsen came to Hollywood in the mid-1950s after performing in 150 live television dramas in New York.
His first film for that studio was auspicious - as the space ship commander in the science fiction classic "Forbidden Planet."
Some of his famous films are: "The Naked Gun" ,"The Naked Gun 2 1/2" , "The Naked Gun 33 1/3”, "All I Want for Christmas," "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" and "Spy Hard."
He became known as a serious actor, although behind the camera he was a prankster.
Between films he often turned serious, touring with his one-man show on the life of the great defense lawyer, Clarence Darrow.
Nielsen was born February 11, 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan.
He grew up 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle at Fort Norman, where his father was an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
As soon as he graduated from high school at 17, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, even though he was legally deaf (he wore hearing aids most of his life.)
After the war, Nielsen worked as a disc jockey at a Calgary radio station, then studied at a Toronto radio school operated by Lorne Greene, who would go on to star on the hit TV series "Bonanza." A scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse brought him to New York, where he immersed himself in live television.
Nielsen also was married to: Monica Boyer, 1950-1955; Sandy Ullman, 1958-74; and Brooks Oliver, 1981-85.
Nielsen and his second wife had two daughters, Thea and Maura.
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