Monday, November 29, 2010

Airplane! Actor Leslie Nielsen Made Us All Laugh!

Leslie Nielsen, one of the best comedic actors on the planet, died November 28, 2010, at a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale. He was 84. I will always remember his performance in the movie Airport! in 1980. Especially the following exchange:
Dr. Ruble (Nielsen): Can you fly this plane and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Dr. Ruble: I am serious, and don't call me Shirley!
I turned to the web for Airplane! movie quotes to confirm the wording, and spent the next half-hour chuckling. Have a giggle along with me.
I also learned, from a New York Times obituary, that Nielsen was the son of a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and was of Danish heritage. The RCMP are another revered group of yours truly, as with all things Canadian, my father's birthplace. Plus all things Scandinavian, my mother being of Swedish heritage. Swedish, Danish, all the same.
Another item that caught my attention was a reference to Nielsen enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force before his 18th birthday. He trained as an aerial gunner during World War II, but was never sent overseas. So he knew airplanes, before Airplane!
I see that AMC will air the movie Airplane! tomorrow night, November 30. I'll be watching. Thank you Leslie Nielsen for continuing to entertain us!

2 Comments:

Anonymous Lance Krystopher said...

The movie you referred to in your article was called "Airplane!", not "Airport!" (re-read your first paragraph!).

Leslie Neilsen starred in a 1980 movie called "Airplane!", which was a spoof of all the airline/airplane disaster movies that had preceeded it, including "Airport", which was a 1970 movie starring Dean Martin as the pilot of an ill-fated airliner.

("Airport" also spawned a bevy of sequels, including "Airport 1975", "Airport 1977", and "Airport '79: the Concord".)

I hope this info is helpful to you!

August 20, 2011 at 1:58 PM  
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