Leslie Nielsen Dies at 84: RSR Says Goodbye
By Geno McGahee
The sad news came in that the star of THE NAKED GUN and AIRPLANE has passed away. Leslie Nielsen, an underrated dramatic actor and well respected comedic actor passed away at the age of 84, after sixty years in the film business.
Nielsen was most known for the spoof movies that he was usually starring in. Even in THE NAKED GUN and its sequels, there were always spoofs of other films and it was overall a funny look at the DIRTY HARRY type movies.
In 1988, THE NAKED GUN, based on the TV show “POLICE SQUAD,” was released and was an immediate hit with the absolute absurdness of it. REPOSSESSED was next, a funny spoof of THE EXORCIST. Two follow ups to THE NAKED GUN were followed by SPY HARD, and the comedic hits kept coming. He never lost his momentum, and most recently, I saw him in SUPERHERO MOVIE, where he was as funny as ever, jumping into a casket that he mistakenly believes to be his dead wife’s only to find an attractive young woman’s body. He asks for time alone with the body. It was that sort of humor and his ability to use his dramatic acting skills in a comedic way that made him so effective. He will be missed.
RSR says goodbye to Leslie Nielsen. He is gone but will never be forgotten.