I Would Have Written This Sooner, But You Weren't Dead Then

As I'm sure everyone's aware by now, Leslie Nielson passed away last weekend. I remember first looking up his age when Mr. Magoo came out in 1997 and thinking "whoa; he's 71!" so it's certainly not a shock that 13 years later he's gone. But it's still sad nonetheless.

When little 9-year-old John went to the theatres to see The Naked Gun in 1998, he instantly became one of my favorite comedic actors. When I got introduced to Airplane a couple years later and then Police Squad a couple years after that, I was even more hooked. But as big of a fan as I was and am, he's also one of the actors that disappointed me the most.

If there's one word that best describes Leslie Nielsen, I think it would be charisma. That may sound strange, and I certainly don't mean it in Hollywood sex-symbol kind of way. But he just had this way about him that made him instantly likeable the minute he appeared on screen. Even when he was doing the most absurd things, he conveyed such an innocence that you viewed it almost like you were watching a puppy do it. The act might have been bad, but you couldn't really blame him.

In any case, I think it was that quality in him that led me to be so disappointed so often. Because Leslie Nielsen has been in a lot of baaaaaad movies. Some that are just run of the mill bad but most of which are utterly and irredeemably awful (Spy Hard, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, 2001: A Space Travesty, Scary Movie 3 and 4). And because he was in them, I went into just about every one thinking, "Leslie Nielsen can save this movie." But of course he couldn't, because they were unsaveable. Besides The Naked Gun series (which get progressively worse but are all still enjoyable) and Airplane, I think the only other comedic film of his that I really enjoy (and I know I'm in the minority here) is Wrongfully Accused. But really, only Airplane and the first Naked Gun are worthy of being called great, and The Naked Gun was 22 years ago. Since then, in the back of my mind I've still been waiting for the next great Leslie Nielsen film, and even though the odds of that happening have gotten longer and longer with each passing year it's not till now that I've finally had to accept that it's now officially never going to happen.

But in a way, isn't that what every actor strives for? No matter how many laughs he gave me, he always left me wanting more. Farewell, Mr. Nielsen; thanks for all the laughs!

It has really bugged me that 90% of what I've read about him in news stories, celebrity tweets, etc are all fixated on the "Surely you can't be serious!" quote. While it's a great line, in my opinion he's got a lot that are at least as good if not better. So I'd like to invite any of my blog readers who are Leslie Nielsen fans to share some of their favorites. Here's a couple of mine (in addition to the one that inspired my blog post title):

Man: Who are you? And how did you get in here?

Frank Drebin: I'm a locksmith, and I'm a locksmith.

Frank Drebin: I'm single! I love being single! I haven't had this much sex since I was a Boy Scout Leader!

(Music stops; people stare)

Frank: I mean at the time I was dating a lot.

Finally, I was only recently introduced to the non-comedic acting of Leslie Nielsen in The Forbidden Planet. That movie is just lots of fun; everything a hokey, B sci-fi movie from the 50s is supposed to be. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys that kind of thing or has ever wondered what the hell they were talking about in "Science Fiction Double Feature" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.