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In Memoriam
This Is Our Hill and These Are Our Beans
Life will be less funny without Leslie Nielsen.
Life became a little less funny with the passing of Leslie Nielsen over the weekend. The world lost the unlikeliest of comedic legends.
If you had asked someone to describe Leslie Nielsen prior to 1980 you might hear adjectives like “handsome leading man” or “silver haired villain.” You would never hear adjectives like “funny man” or “comic genius.”
But then in 1980 along came a little movie called Airplane! All of a sudden, Nielsen’s career would literally and figuratively take off in a whole new direction. Now Nielsen wasn’t the only actor who the triumvirate of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker cast against type. Who knew that Robert Stack could take out Hari Krishnas and the Moonies out with one fell swoop? Who knew Lloyd Bridges had an addiction to glue? Who knew Peter Graves was so curious about Turkish prisons? And who knew Barbara Billingsley was so fluent in jive? But despite their brilliant turns Stack, Bridges, Graves and Billingsley generally weren’t cast in other comedic roles.
So what made Nielsen’s turn as Dr. Alan Rumack so special? Nielsen not only played him straight he was downright serious. Surely you can’t be serious? Well, I am serious and don’t call me Shirley. But serious or not, Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker had only scratched the surface of Nielsen’s potential as a comedic actor. They would cast Nielsen as Lieutenant Frank Drebin in a television series called Police Squad, a satire of police procedurals which aired on ABC in 1982. Unfortunately, ABC never fully embraced the vision of Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker and cancelled the series after only six episodes. Despite getting the axe, Police Squad would develop a loyal and enduring cult following.
Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker also weren’t quite ready to relinquish custody of Lieutenant Drebin and neither was Nielsen. Six years later, their persistence paid off with the release of The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad. It enjoyed the kind of commercial and critical success that so alluded Police Squad. Over the next six years, The Naked Gun would spawn two sequels. At a time when most actors would slow down, Nielsen reached the height of his popularity in his sixties.
To give you an idea of just how popular Nielsen was in the early 1990s, I remember attending Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 1993. There must have been at least a hundred thousand people there. When Nielsen (who was born in Saskatchewan) came on the video screen to give a few remarks he received the loudest applause of the night.
Let me offer one more anecdote. When the second Naked Gun movie came out in 1991 I was still living in Thunder Bay having just graduated from high school. I invited my friend Renny Maki out to see the movie with me. Now he hadn’t seen the first Naked Gun movie but I had assumed he heard of it. As it turns out he thought The Naked Gun was a straight police drama. So when he saw the first sight gag it really threw him for a loop. Don’t get me wrong. He thought the movie was hilarious. But I thought it was even funnier that he didn’t know it was a comedy. At the time, Renny and I were opposites on the political spectrum (he was the conservative and I was the socialist.) So in the years that followed when Renny and I disagreed about something in front of others and he seemed to be getting the upper hand in the argument I would invariably point out, “Yeah, but Renny thought The Naked Gun was a serious movie.” People would look at Renny as if he had lived under a rock. But it was all in good fun.
I think my mother probably summed up The Naked Gun movies when she described them as “pleasantly silly.” It is an assessment with which I completely agree. As I become older I find it harder to laugh. Things are either not as funny to me as they once were or what is considered fashionably funny just isn’t funny at all. Leslie Nielsen’s brand of humor has aged well and is devoid of the meanness that is often at the core of contemporary humor.
For all the ridiculous situations Lieutenant Drebin found himself in and for all the absurdity that ensued, Nielsen nevertheless played that character with warmth and empathy that made people want more. My favorite scene in The Naked Gun takes place when Jane (played by Priscilla Presley) pulls a gun on Drebin. Despite facing certain death, Drebin tells her of his love and proposes marriage and in a brilliant variation of the ending of Casablanca, Drebin says, “It’s a topsy-turvy world, and maybe the problems of two people don’t amount to a hill of beans. But this is our hill. And these are our beans!” Not only does Jane agree to marriage but it stops an on-field brawl between the Seattle Mariners and the California Angels, it moves Curt Gowdy to tearfully apologize for yelling at Jim Palmer, and results in an embrace between Jew and Arab.
I can only hope that some enterprising network will pay tribute to Nielsen by airing a weekend marathon of all six Police Squad episode, The Naked Gun trilogy and, of course, Airplane! In a world full of danger, terror and general anxiety unease, Lord knows we could all use a really good laugh.
About the Author
Aaron Goldstein writes from Boston, Massachusetts.
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Appleby| 12.1.10 @ 7:19AM
I really enjoyed Leslie Neilson in *Due South* too -- he made an engagingly disconnected Mountie, right at home in a show that was eternally off kilter. He could be naturally funny, and above all else, he could do it without being dirty. *Fashionably Funny* really means Dirty And Vulgar; FUNNY is something entirely different. Leslie Neilson had it; Gene Wilder has it; nobody under 50 even knows what it is.
jim| 12.1.10 @ 4:33PM
His Sgt Buck Frosbisher in Due South was pure comic genius. I can't even think of his take on the Henry V's St Crispin's Day address in that programs final episode without laughing out loud.
His "second act" in show business was so much better than his, or most other people's, first. He will be missed.
Alan Brooks| 12.1.10 @ 10:50PM
I liked best the 2nd half of 'Naked Gun 33 1/3, the prison scenes, hanging out with the Ma Barker gang, and the finale wherein the Academy Awards were lampooned.
Alan Brooks| 12.1.10 @ 10:54PM
... naturally not the Ma Barker gang, but a Ma Barker-like gang.
Great casting, IMO.
And the Ocsars-scene! what a raspberry aimed at Hollywood.
Alan Brooks| 12.1.10 @ 10:59PM
Oscars, not Ocsars.
"best picture goes to Fatal Instinct" (Mike Douglas's 'Basic Instinct')
'Indecent Proposal' didn't need lampooning-- it did the job by itself.
NavyBrat | 12.1.10 @ 7:41AM
Greatest Leslie Neilson lines ever:
"Renfield, you asshole!!!!!" (Dracula: Dead & Loving It)
"Yes, I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." (Airplane!)
"Nice beaver." (The Naked Gun)
RIP, Mr. Neilson! You will be missed!
chuck| 12.1.10 @ 8:01PM
"Nice Beaver"
"Thanks, I just had it stuffed"
RIP
Alan Brooks| 12.2.10 @ 11:39PM
"Fatal Instinct"=
'Basic Instinct' + 'Fatal Attraction'
Sandcrab| 12.1.10 @ 9:06AM
eluded, not alluded - spellcheck strikes again !
kingfish | 12.1.10 @ 9:11AM
Who could forget his dramatic performances on the Love Boat?
Eric Cartman| 12.1.10 @ 9:14AM
As Drebin drives by San Onofre Nuclear Plant domes (they look like boobs http://spoutingoff.files.wordp.....surfer.jpg):
Hockin: Don't beat yourself up over this, Frank.
Drebin: Everywhere I look, it reminds me of her.
Peppermint Tea| 12.1.10 @ 9:51AM
Aren't the Naked Gun movies grown funnier since OJ's trial and later incarceration?
And Nielson...
Surely we loved him.
Brad| 12.1.10 @ 10:55AM
Yes, we did.
And don't call me Shirley.
Steve A| 12.1.10 @ 10:02AM
Hey Leslie, When you get to the pearly gates, "good luck, we are all counting on you."
Padoux| 12.1.10 @ 10:37AM
Nielson was a hoot in all his comedic roles. I laughed more for his movies than any others except Sellers in the Pink Panther movies. Bridges did do other comedies with Charlie Sheen and an hilarious episode on Seinfeld where he portrayed a macho oldster. Sadly they are all gone. Bon voyage to them and thanks for the laughter in this often glum and mean world.
Nick77| 12.1.10 @ 11:32AM
With all the attention paid to Neilson's career as a comedic actor, let’s not forget he was also star of the science fiction classic, Forbidden Planet.
Eric Cartman| 12.1.10 @ 12:16PM
Commander J. J. Adams! My wife hates when that movie comes on LOL. I always make her watch it. It's great to watch and insert Airplane lines in places that fit. Robot was priceless. Walter Pidgeon's sexy daughter - what's her name? Alteria? Who was she? I'll have to google. It's a great movie with astonishing FX for the time.
Albert| 12.1.10 @ 12:23PM
Anne Francis. Yum!
Eric Cartman| 12.1.10 @ 12:55PM
That's her! She was in Bad Day at Black Rock, too. I love old movies - a TCM junkie. She was a knock out in FP. I want that movie poster - Robot holding Anne Francis.
Stuart Koehl| 12.1.10 @ 3:25PM
"Anne Francis. Yum!"
Greatest SF movie line of all time: "Kiss? What is kiss?"
Duh'g from Houston| 12.2.10 @ 12:51AM
They are a heavy metal band known for their face paint and flamboyant costumes... but that is not important right now.
Nobody Special| 1.3.11 @ 3:19PM
It is sad to note that just over a month of losing Leslie Nielsen, we lose Anne Francis as well.
Here is to hoping Cdr. John J. Adams and Altaira Morbius have found a place to settle down after having to leave Altair IV.
CountryClassKook| 12.1.10 @ 12:43PM
Somehow, growing up in the '80's, I missed Leslie Nielsen's comic outings, but being a total sci-fi nerd, "Forbidden Planet" was my "Citizen Kane." Mr. Nielsen was a dramatic actor, to me. The first time I saw "Naked Gun," I too figured it was going to be a serious movie. I couldn't believe that Commander Adams was so funny. To this day, it still feels a little odd watching him in comedies.
Mr. Nielsen will be missed by my family, for sure.
Forbidden Planet is still my all time favorite. The story is still spectacular (thanks Bill Shakespeare), and the effects are gorgeous. I could go on for pages about all that is excellent with that movie, so I'll stop now...
CountryClassKook| 12.1.10 @ 12:47PM
re: Altaira was played by Anne Francis. Amazing how sexy the movie is in parts, without being lewd. Something totally missing for decades...
Eric Cartman| 12.1.10 @ 12:57PM
I agree. Lucky Frank Drebin.
MikeN| 12.1.10 @ 12:24PM
alluded should be eluded
Doctor Right| 12.1.10 @ 12:51PM
While honey-mooning in Vancouver in '97, my new bride and I took a trip to the top of Grouse Mountain on a cable car.
On the return trip, the cable-car attendant announced that we were in a slight delay leaving the station as a film crew had wrapped their shoot for the day, and we were holding the car for their arrival.
All of a sudden, coming towards me as I'm holding the door for my wife is a distinguished looking gentleman whom I instantly recognize - Leslie Nielson!
I held the door for him, and said "Hi, Mr. Nielson!" (Duh, right?), to which he gave a friendly reply.
The trip back down the mountain took at least 10 minutes, and I'll never forget the sight of this Hollywood star, trapped in one place with at least 30 adoring fans all crowding around him asking for autographs and pictures. And Nielson was a class act - he smiled at everyone, shook a lot of hands, and posed for a few pictures, too. He even endured being called "Shirley" by one of two people, too (not me, I promise).
It's a nice memory.
Eric Cartman| 12.1.10 @ 1:11PM
That's a great memory! The guy sounds like such a class act. My mother worked in NYC during WWII waiting for my Dad to return from Europe. She would go to this little restaurant on Broadway everyday to eat lunch. One day she noticed this gentleman walking down the street coming at her. He walked by and, looking at her, winked and doffed his hat. It was Edgar G Robinson! He did this for some time - maybe a week or two. Finally, one day she was walking out and he stopped and opened the door for her, smiled and said "I thought you would never stop eating" since every time he saw her she was sitting at a table eating. LOL. He chatted with her for a bit, wished her good luck and hoped Dad made it back safe and soon. He was a perfect gentleman. After that, every time she saw him he would smile and wave or wink and say Hi Beverly! She loves that memory. He was a class act , like Nielsen- you don't find that anymore, either.
Stuart Koehl| 12.1.10 @ 3:27PM
Edward G. Robinson. Or maybe it was Edgar, his unknown younger brother?
Eric Cartman| 12.1.10 @ 6:10PM
Whoops! ( Edgar?) You're right. Sorry - typo. Weird.
Perusha| 12.1.10 @ 1:59PM
Ah, movies, and these days, TV shows, “surely” make a deep impression on us all, especially in our mostly still un-programmed youth!
One of the bennies of living long enough and staying in touch with our earliest memories is the ability to juxtapose those seminal flicks and the actors in them with later jobs they do.
For me, Leslie Nielsen always FIRST plucks his act as the suave suitor of “Tammy”, played by Debbie Reynolds, from the late fifties.
croft458| 12.1.10 @ 2:04PM
No one mentioned his role in one of the episodes of the movie Creepshow. Not really a comedy, but he did an excellect job in it, great acting, especially when he 'lost it' at the end.
mames| 12.1.10 @ 2:23PM
He was a classically trained actor; dancing, singing, acting etc. The greatness of his comedy was the same greatness that served him in dramatic roles. He always played it straight which is the only way to do "funny". good bye Leslie!
Ned| 12.1.10 @ 4:19PM
Yes, but wasn't he also the "Swamp Fox" (aka Francis Marion) in the early 60's? You gotta love a Canadian who can play an American Revolutionary War hero.
Oldefarte| 12.1.10 @ 4:53PM
I wonder if Barack ever proclaimed: SHIRLEY, DON'T CALL ME BARRY!!!!!!!!
pilgrim| 12.1.10 @ 5:39PM
During an appearance on Late Night, Nielson concealed a 'fart bag', which he discreetly activated while talking with the clueless Letterman. Before a commercial break, Nielson let go with a profound blast, which prompted Letterman to say; "Maybe you should consider more fruit in your diet!"
Michael| 12.1.10 @ 6:55PM
He was the King of the straight-faced one liners. "It's a big building with doctors".
Mike K| 12.1.10 @ 7:21PM
He was a class act and one of the most funny guys I've ever watched on the big screen and now God gets him. I bet they are cracking up as we speak.
Howard| 12.1.10 @ 8:18PM
I thought Leslie Nielsen was hilarious. I will miss him. I first remember him as a police detective in the early 1960's called "The New Breed". It also had John Bernadino, who starred in General Hospital for a million years. Lousy show, but, Nielsen played the role in a Jack Webb style. Who knew!
albert constantine jr.| 12.1.10 @ 11:24PM
...and not to get all upside down about it, but who could forget his role as the skipper of the doomed vessel in the original Poseidon Adventure.
Judith| 12.3.10 @ 2:51AM
Not too many left, are there? sigh
laptop_repairs_manchester | 12.3.10 @ 4:09AM
"Cigarette ?"
"Yes, I know."