Actor, Leslie Nielsen, Passes Away

Veteran actor, Leslie Nielsen, passed away at the age of 84 on November 28, 2010. The 6 foot tall Canadian born actor was much celebrated for his comic roles in such hilarious films as Airplane! and the Naked Gun films, but Nielsen was a fixture in Hollywood for decades both on television and the big screen.

Leslie Nielsen was born Feb. 11, 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan and grew up at Fort Norman. His father was an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Leslie Nielsen joined the Royal Canadian Air Force fresh out of high school to escape his domineering and abusive father, even though he was legally deaf and had to wear hearing aids most of his life. He later worked as a disc jockey at a Calgary radio station, and also studied at a Toronto radio school operated by fellow Canadian, Lorne Greene, who later starred as the patriarch of the Cartwright clan on “Bonanza.” Nielsen appeared in one episode of “Bonanza” in 1967 as a sheriff. He appeared in many other TV Westerns of the 50s and 60s, such as Gunsmoke, as well as popular series in the 70s and 80s, like Hawaii Five-O and Street of San Francisco.

Those who were children in the 1960s well remember his stint as Revolutionary War hero, Francis Marion, in the Disney series “The Swamp Fox.”

In total, Leslie Nielsen made 169 appearances in television and was also in 73 films and videos.

Nielsen was married four times: to Monica Boyer from 1950-1955; to Sandy Ullman from 1958-74 with whom he had two daughters, Maura and Thea; to Brooks Oliver from 1981-85 and to his current wife Barbaree since 2001.

His agent, John S. Kelly, confirmed Nielsen’s passing at 5:34 p.m. on Sunday near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from complications from pneumonia. His nephew Doug Nielsen told Canadian radio station CKNW that the actor “just fell asleep and passed away.”

Popularity: 4%

Tags: francis, leslie, lorne, marion, r.i.p.