Leslie Nielsen passed away this week. Everyone has been quoting his “Don’t call me Shirley” line from Airplane all week but I was more a fan of his Naked Gun series of movies as he was the star.
Imagine a movie where a 50+ year old is the star, he has a hot girlfriend in Priscilla Presley, includes the master of disaster films, George Kennedy, and costared OJ Simpson when the public still loved and admired him.
A few of my favorite lines:
Mimi Du Jour: Is this some kind of bust?
Lt. Frank Drebin (Nielsen): Yes, ma’am, it’s very impressive, but we need to ask you a few questions.
Lt. Frank Drebin (Nielsen): It’s the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girl dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day.
[Jane climbs a ladder as Drebin looks up]
Lt. Frank Drebin (Nielsen): Nice beaver!
Jane [producing a stuffed beaver] Thank you. I just had it stuffed.
Any other favorites?
Comments
70 responses to “RIP Leslie Nielsen”
No quotes, as I didn’t watch many of his movies, but was intrigued by his earlier works as well. Nice tribute.. love the beaver line!
I still use it everytime i see a stuffed beaver. Which of course is rare.
RIP Frank Drebin… you’ll be missed.
It’s not goodbye…it’s just I won’t see you anymore.
Great job Bearman. One of my favorite lines was when he was confronting Priscilla Presley in the restaurant and as she leaves he stands up and shouts, “Don’t worry about me. I haven’t had this much sex since I was a boy scout leader.” All the patrons stare at him with this glare, he quickly responds to them “I was dating a lot at the time.”
The Police Squad episodes were amazing. I hated that it only lasted 6 episodes, I guess like the Zucker Brothers said, they were pulling stuff that really required more than a 30 minute show to get the joke across.
He is and always will be one of my top 5 favorite actors.
hah…I forgot that scene. I couldn’t believe Police Squad didn’t make it as a series. It def would have lasted today with cable.
Great job! Liked both his early work as well as the silly stuff. Your caricature is nicely done and a wonderful tribute.
Thanks Samantha…I never know how these things will turn out.
Nielsen will be sorely missed. I saw a Disney movie with him in it with my nephew some years back called Rent a Kid. Even when he is working with Disney he knows how to get us laughing. It was hysterical. He was and will always be one of the greats.
I vaguely remember Rent a kid. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.
The police squad series was so unique. I loved the way they killed off the guest star in the first few minutes. And of course Leslie was in Forbidden Planet, one of the original SF classics.
I didn’t remember that either. Wasn’t there some giant cop that you never saw his face?
In Police Squad? I’m not sure…
Great caricature. I guess you could say his “Shirley” line was the inspiration for my Shirley the Monkey character. There probably aren’t many weeks that go by that I don’t tell someone “Don’t call me Shirley.”
Why do people call you Shirley??haha
Surely you jest.:)
Drebin: “That’s a honey of an ankle bracelet you’re wearing.”
Jane: “Did that slip down there again?”
Classic.
The Beaver line with Presley is the a classic. Glad he is getting so much press and your tribute to him is excellent! He also stayed out of the press until now which must mean he was a regular guy. Refreshing.
No it means that he isn’t 15-25 and out clubbing so TMZ didn’t care to keep up with him.
I can’t recall any favorite quotes, because everything Leslie said was hilarious to me. You did a great job with this tribute, B.
Thanks G.
I still love “Dracula: Dead & Loving It”. Despite what some broomstick-up-the-butt critics may have said, it’s still a hilarious movie and a great showcase of Nielsen’s comedy.
…and if comedy’s not your thing, check out his stunningly imposing performance in “Creepshow”. Anyone who never knew that Nielsen was a serious actor will be surprised.
I forgot he was in Creepshow. I remembered Ted Danson in that segment but forgot that Nielsen was the husband.
I can’t remember if I saw Dracula: DALI or not.
That’s right everyone: Leslie Nielsen got to kill Ted Danson in “Creepshow”…need any more proof that Leslie is awesome?
Give “Dracula: Dead and Loving It” a try (incidentally, I never noticed the acronym is “DALI”…how surreal)…just don’t expect “Young Frankenstein”. I’m sure many critics and moviegoers made the inevitable comparison and shot down “Dracula” because it didn’t measure up to Mel Brooks’ previous monster mash…but in all fairness, how can ANY comedy hold up against “Young Frankenstein”?
I just saw the play and even though it was mostly music I never heard, it was good.
I still use “Don’t call me Shirley” …yes, lame I know 🙁
No problem…we’ll just call you a peachless loony
I have hacked into someones wifi and have unlimited Internet. Blahahahahahhaa
Be wary of free wifi.
loony u are such a leach! 😛
dammit i mean leech
Or she could easily be a lech.
All of the above 🙂
I never saw the naked gun. Great likeness B.M. That’s one thing I can’t do is to make drawings actually look like people.
Me either but I tell people who it is so they are predisposed to think I did a good job.
He had a good head of hair didn’t he? 😉
That’s my goal too.
He made some great funny scenes. I like both the movies you mentioned in the text. I forget what movie it was (same one I think) in, but he slide across a table of food and flies into the queen.
I think that was the first Naked Gun.
After I wrote this comment, I went looking on youtube for Leslie Nielsen stuff. It was fun watching clips. I also realized I had not seen all the Naked Gun movies. How many were there? 3, 4
I would highly recommend that you find a copy of Forbidden Planet. I’ve often said that movie was the seed that grew into Star Trek. If FP was the proto-Star Trek, then Leslie Nielsen’s character was the proto-Kirk.
Also if you get a chance to see it, he was great in Disney’s Swamp Fox series when I was a little kid.
I see alot of stories on FB this week. Can’t say I ever saw it but I am sure it is coming to AMC soon. I’ll def check it out.
“Forbidden Planet” is cool. The obscure sci-fi film with Leslie I’m looking for is “Day of the Animals”, a ‘Nature runs amok’ film where Leslie fights a BEAR…no joke.
The race is on to find this flick!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075913/
He might be able to handle a bear but he can’t handle a bearman.
I think that beaver one is more well known and quoted than the “Don’t call me Shirley” quote.
Best deadpan comedian/actor of all time.
Cleavon LIttle was good too but no one saw him in anything after Blazing saddles
The cariacture and associated comments above are as fine an obit as I’ve read elsewhere on a fine actor…
Quite by chance, two of his very early films have been shown here ijn the last few days;
The Opposite Sex
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049578/
The Sheepman
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052190/
Dave
The opposite sex seems a little risque for 1956
It was!
RIP Mr N…. good movies
I never was into his on screen antics much, I would rather watch Abbott and Costello for good old nonsense.
A&C had nothing on the Stooges though..haha
Oh yeah the classics! Good times!
That’s another great likeness, Bearman – very cool! 🙂
Thank you sir.
RIP. I hope he’s drinking his vine and eating his chik’n in heaven.
I hope he is saving me some.
Indeed sir.
Loved Airplane!! Btw, we got our “Don’t Touch My Junk shirt and we’re looking for a creative place to take a pic this weekend. 🙂
I’m scared!
I loved everything that came out of that man’s mouth.
While the other girls my age had posters of Corey Haim/Feldman covering their walls, I had action shots of Lt. Frank Drebin and Clark Griswold.
Clark Griswald…eww the dog peed in the sandwiches
I knew I picked the wrong week to stop shooting heroin into my eyeballs and smoking crack out of a catalytic converter. Shit!
Great caricature!
Who can find a catalytic converter anymore?
I hope you don’t mind but your avatar is making a cameo appearance tomorrow with Edna and Mildred.
A very funny man! 🙂
I was never a big fan of his movies, but those lines you quoted are hysterical!
The comedy world has lost a great one. R.I.P.