Biography for
Leslie Nielsen (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

11 February 1926, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Date of Death

28 November 2010, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA (complications from pneumonia)

Birth Name

Leslie William Nielsen

Height

6' 0½" (1.84 m)

Mini Biography

Leslie William Nielsen was raised in Tulita (formerly Fort Norman), Northwest Territories. His father was a Danish-born Mountie and a strict disciplinarian. His mother was Welsh. Leslie studied at the Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto before moving on to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. His acting career started at a much earlier age when he was forced to lie to his father in order to avoid severe punishment. Leslie starred in over fifty films and many more television films. One of his two brothers became the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. In 2002, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of his contributions to the film and television industries. Leslie Nielsen died at age 84 of complications from pneumonia on November 28, 2010.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Greg Hardy

Spouse

Barbaree Earl Nielsen	(2001 - 28 November 2010) (his death)
Bobbye Brooks Oliver	(13 November 1981 - 5 December 1984) (divorced)
Alisande Ullman	(10 September 1958 - July 1974) (divorced) 2 children
Monica Boyer	(28 December 1950 - 9 June 1957) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Delivering sophomoric punchlines with a deadpan expression

"Whoopee cushion" gags

Appearing oblivious to everything that's happening around him

Misinterprets what other people say. For example, in The Naked Gun, a character offers him a cigar and says, "Cuban?" Leslie's character replies with "Err, no. Dutch Irish. My father was from Wales."

Deep commanding voice

Grey hair and blue eyes

His characters are often deeply stupid but still get praised as intelligent by others in the film

Frequently worked with Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers

Trivia

Nephew of the late actors Jean Hersholt and Via Hersholt.

Born at 5:00 am MST.

Older brother was a high-ranking Canadian politician. Eric Nielsen was the Government Leader of the Yukon Territory before becoming a Member of Parliment and the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. He died from a massive heart attack on September 4, 2008 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

His grandfather on father's side was Danish.

While in Winnipeg, Canada, to promote their movie Men with Brooms (2002), he and co-star Paul Gross received Honorary Citizenships from Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray at the Granite Curling Club.

Became a naturalized U.S. citizen on November 16th, 1958.

Attended Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton, Alberta.

He has a half brother named Gilbert Nielsen who lives in Hobbs, New Mexico.

Was made an "Honorary West Virginian and Ambassador of Mountain State Goodwill" on February 20, 2002, by then-Secretary of State of West Virginia Joe Manchin III, now junior United States Senator for West Virginia (elected 2010) after having served as West Virginia Governor since 2004.

In the Fall of 2003, the Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada opened the Leslie Nielsen School of Communications, with the actor on hand for the ceremony.

He was awarded an O.C. (Officer of the Order of Canada) on October 10, 2002 for his services to entertainment.

Has two daughters: Maura Nielsen Kaplan and Thea Nielsen Disney.

At age 17, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained as an aerial gunner.

Tested for the role of "Messala" in Ben-Hur (1959).

Film critic Roger Ebert once called him "the Laurence Olivier of spoofs".

Was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).

His father was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer for Northwest Territory and Saskatchewan.

Avid motorcylist.

Attended the Chiller Theater Expo in Parsippany, New Jersey along with actress Jamie Luner of "Profiler" (1996), John Schneider, Angie Dickinson, Brian O'Halloran, Danny Woodburn, David Hedison, Erik Estrada, Audra Lynn and Barry Williams on October 24th, 2008.

Was considered for the role of Jack Torrance in The Shining (1980).

Lived in Phoenix, Arizona.

Cousin of Jean Hersholt Jr. and Allan Hersholt.

He is half-Danish and half-Welsh.

Director/producer Wendy Dent presented Leslie Nielsen with the final award of his career, a Lifetime Achievement Award, at the star-studded 2005 Palm Beach International Film Festival Gala at the ritzy Boca Raton Resort. The black-tie affair was attended also by Woody Harrelson, Salma Hayek and tennis starts Venus and Serena Williams, but Leslie Nielsen was the talk of the night, accepting the award from Wendy Dent with a gentlemanly flirtatiousness after he first walked the red carpet armed with a flatulence-maker in his tuxedo pocket.

Personal Quotes

Doing nothing is very hard to do . . . you never know when you're finished.

The reason they call it 'golf' is that all the other four-letter words were used up.

[on the part of his career when he played almost exclusively bad guys] The best part is always the heavy. And the meaner and crueler and the worse you are, the more vicious you are as the heavy, the better the hero looks when he whips you. So, the heavy is liable to be a very dramatic, fine acting part. I told my agent at that time, "I want to play heavies who are really vicious and cruel and terrible. I want them to know that they're terrible and I want them to enjoy it."

[on his wrestling a "wild grizzly bear" (it was actually a docile honey bear] in Day of the Animals (1977)] I had to weave and play around with a honey bear, and I could wrestle with him a little bit, but there's no way you can even wrestle a honey bear, let alone a grizzly bear that's standing ten feet to eleven feet tall! Can you imagine? But it was fascinating to work that close to that kind of animal.

When people are laughing, they don't beat up on you. You're secure and safe. It's when they stop laughing that it's dangerous.

[Touring in Ireland with Robert Goulet]: That was a wonderful time. Halfway through, we were joined by a friend, a mad Armenian. We were enjoying ourselves so much, with a drink here and a drink there, what we should have done - like mountaineers - was to tie ropes around our waists, so if anybody fell, we would know.

[on using his famous 'farting machine']: You have to have some body movement, some wiggling of legs and hips in rhythm with the sound of breaking wind. Actually in the north, in Fort Norman, that used to be the way we said goodnight, although, of course, then we did it naturally.

[on Lorne Greene]: The hair would stand up on my arms, his voice was so magnificent. When I met him, Lorne looked exactly the way he sounded, the patriarch. I could never have imagined him riding the range, herding the cattle, as he did in "Bonanza" (1959). But he became a friend who was always there, always gentle, always friendly.

[on specializing in serious roles in his early years]: Actually I always wanted to do comedy, but I never made the effort because I was a coward. I didn't have the courage. I was a closet comedian. I was too self-conscious and lacking in confidence.

Where Are They Now

(June 2007) Paradise Valley, Arizona

(September 2008) Chiller Theater Expo in Parsippany, New Jersey, signing autographs for fans.