Tag Archives: leslie-nielsen

SNL: ‘Nicolas Cage’ and Liam Neeson Team at Last

I’ve always had a weak spot for Andy Samberg’s impression of Nicolas Cage on SNL ‘s Weekend Update, which the show revived over the weekend to help pimp the NBC Universal property Battleship . This called for the appearance of that film’s co-star Liam Neeson — or Neese’s Pieces, or Tall Bono, or Leslie Nielsen, or whatever else Cage felt like calling the actor when he wasn’t wondering, “Which Jewish masseuse do I have pork to get a gig in this town?” Your mileage may vary, but hey. I laughed, and it’s Monday. Off we go.

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SNL: ‘Nicolas Cage’ and Liam Neeson Team at Last

‘Empire Strikes Back’ Added To National Film Registry

‘Saturday Night Fever,’ ‘Airplane!’ among other movies recognized by Library of Congress. By Jayson Rodriguez “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” Photo: FOX Thirty years ago, moviegoers were stunned when Darth Vader revealed in “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” that he was Luke Skywalker’s father. On Tuesday (December 28), however, there was no surprise when the venerable sci-fi flick was selected by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Film Registry, according to The Associated Press. The honor recognizes the iconic 1980 movie for being artistically, culturally or historically significant. A copy of the original film will be preserved by the registry at the Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, for future generations. “The Empire Strikes Back” was produced by “Star Wars” auteur George Lucas but directed by Irvin Kershner. It was joined by 24 other films; more than 2,500 were nominated. The John Travolta-powered disco vehicle “Saturday Night Fever,” the Watergate drama “All the President’s Men” and Spike Lee’s biopic “Malcolm X” were among the popular titles to make the cut. The films will be added to a library that includes upwards of 550 titles, including Lucas’ “American Graffiti” and the first installment of “Star Wars.” Comedies including “The Pink Panther” and “Airplane!” were also selected by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, who has picked every film in the registry since its inception in 1989. “Airplane!” is a hilarious spoof of disaster movies that starred Leslie Nielsen, who died less than a month ago at the age of 84. For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos ‘Empire Strikes Back’ 30th Anniversary Screening

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‘Empire Strikes Back’ Added To National Film Registry

Comic Star Leslie Nielsen Dies

Comic Star Leslie Nielsen Dies – The star of Airplane and The Naked Gun, Leslie Nielsen has died at the age of 84. Nearly two weeks ago, the veteran actor was brought to the hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida due to pneumonia. According to his nephew Dough Nielsen, “With his friends and his wife by Comic Star Leslie Nielsen Dies is a post from: Daily World Buzz Continue reading

VIDEO: Leslie Nielsen’s Fart Machine in Action

There have already been a number of phemenomenal tributes to the late Leslie Nielsen, but now Airplane and Naked Gun co-writer/director David Zucker has penned one and it’s both heartwarming and hilarious. There is one brief, eyebrow-raising moment where Zucker writes: “Offscreen, he wasn’t so much of a joke or storyteller…” Fortunately, he immediately qualifies this statement by saying that Nielsen preferred practical jokes and that “the stories are legion about the fart machine…” Too perfect. Let’s go to the videos.

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VIDEO: Leslie Nielsen’s Fart Machine in Action

Leslie Nielsen — The Beaver Connection

Filed under: Leslie Nielsen , R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen will be missed — and thanks to a certain ” Airplane ” enthusiast’s latest not-so-crazy theory … we’ll never think about Leslie without thinking about beaver. Check out TMZ on TV — click here to see your local listings! Read more

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Leslie Nielsen — The Beaver Connection

‘Take This With You:’ Movieline Remembers the Career of Leslie Nielsen

Irvin Kirshner Passes Away

On the heels of Leslie Nielsen’s death comes another sad passing in the Hollywood community. Irvin Kershner, director The Empire Strikes Back , has died . He was 87. The director was in his 50s when he was tapped to head the

Leslie Nielsen: A Fan’s Appreciation

Read a tribute to the ‘Airplane!’ and ‘Naked Gun’ funnyman, who died Sunday at age 84. By Eric Ditzian Leslie Nielsen Photo: Paramount Pictures Owning a VHS tape of “Airplane!” was utterly pointless. The disaster-flick spoof played on what seemed like a near-constant basic-cable loop, available to feed the insatiable need for a first grader to hear Leslie Nielsen quip, yet again, that while everyone on his ill-fated flight was served steak or fish, he managed to dine on lasagna. But there was a certain comfort in knowing that I had access to the movie any time I needed a quick fix. And I needed it often. For me, there was simply nothing else like it. I didn’t know movies could do what “Airplane!” did. A glue-sniffing, pill-popping air-traffic controller? A little girl who takes her coffee black, just like her men? And what the heck was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar doing there? (For photos of the late funnyman throughout his career, click here.) “Airplane!” is a deeply strange movie, and its strangeness had the effect, even after countless viewings, of keeping the film endlessly surprising. How is that even possible? I knew every line and still it felt like anything could happen at any moment. It never got old. Nor did Nielsen, so it seemed. He remained almost unfairly frozen in time — with that same white helmet of hair, that same doughy-skinned face he sported in “Airplane!,” and then later in the “Naked Gun” trilogy. He was a man without a past. It would be decades before I learned of his previous work as a dramatic actor. I knew only what I saw on screen: one of the funniest damn people in the world. And so it was with great sadness that I read of Nielsen’s passing on Sunday at the age of 84. My first encounters with “Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad” were a shock to the system. My thinking went something like, “You mean to tell me there’s a funnier movie than ‘Airplane?’ ” As Lieutenant Frank Drebin, Nielsen just slayed me. The scenes where he crashes a major league baseball game, impersonating an opera singer named Enrico Pallazzo and then stepping into the role of call-botching home plate umpire remain some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever seen. At least that’s the way I remember it. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a “Naked Gun” flick. For that matter, “Airplane!” no longer seems to be on TV constantly. And where that original VHS tape is, I have no idea. But these are movies that are sewn into my pop culture DNA. There’s a certain comfort in that. What are your favorite Leslie Nielsen movie moments? Tell us in the comments. For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos Leslie Nielsen: A Life In Photos

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Leslie Nielsen: A Fan’s Appreciation

Leslie Nielsen Dead At 84

‘Airplane!’ and ‘Naked Gun’ star passed away on Sunday. By Gil Kaufman Leslie Nielsen Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images Leslie Nielsen has died. Surely, you can’t be serious. Yes, the comedy great and “Airplane!” star passed away on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the age of 84 after being treated for pneumonia. And don’t call me Shirley. It was lines like the above, delivered in Nielsen’s patented deadpan that gave the dramatic stage and screen actor an unlikely comedic revival later in life. After beginning his career in the 1950s as a matinee idol, taking on the roles of dashing heroes in films such as the sci-fi classic “Forbidden Planet” and the stalwart captain in 1972’s “The Poseidon Adventure,” the Canadian-born actor switched gears in 1980 and took a chance with a slapstick disaster-movie spoof that would forever change his life. Nielsen was at first reluctant to take on the role of the clueless Dr. Alan Rumack, but the white-haired, hilariously dopey MD became the comedic find of a lifetime, as the actor managed to steal the show in a movie packed with dozens of classic one-liners thanks to his impeccable timing and serious delivery. It was an unlikely, but ultimately lucrative left turn in a long career that spanned more than 100 movies and 1,500 television appearances. Born Leslie William Nielsen in Regina, Saskatchewan, on February 11, 1926, Nielsen signed up with the Royal Canadian Air Force before turning 18 and trained as an aerial gunner during World War II, but never saw action. He tried his hand at radio and studied acting, landing his television debut in 1950 as part of the “Actor’s Studio” TV series. He spent the next several years bouncing around different TV shows, including “Lights Out” and “Tales of Tomorrow” and working in a Broadway play before landing his film debut in 1956 in “Ransom!” Even as his movie career blossomed, Nielsen kept returning to TV to play earnest heroes in shows like “Rawhide” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” He continued bouncing back and forth between the big and small screens throughout the 1960s and ’70s, appearing in hit shows like “M*A*S*H” and “Barnaby Jones” while taking small roles in little-seen films such as “Project: Kill” and “Day of the Animals.” By the late 1970s, he was on the “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Boat” celebrity-cameo circuit when producers/directors/writers Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker came knocking with “Airplane!” The slapstick film was not only a box-office success, but it recast Nielsen in a whole new light that the actor clearly relished. Following “Airplane!” he again stuck with the Zuckers for their six-episode 1982 “Police Squad!” TV series, in which he again spoofed a popular genre he had once played it straight in, police procedurals, giving the world the bumbling detective Frank Drebin. He spent the rest of the 1980s mostly doing comedic cameos in films and spot appearances on series such as “227” and “Highway to Heaven.” Mining the “Police Squad!” vein once more, he hit paydirt again in 1988 with the movie spoof “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!,” in which he revived the Drebin character. A series of sequels followed in 1991 and 1994, but Nielsen would never again capture the comedic imagination as he did at his second career peak. By the 2000s he was mostly seen in cameos in the “Scary Movie” franchise — including a spot in the upcoming fifth installment — and other spoofs such as “2001: A Space Travesty.” What’s your favorite Leslie Nielsen line? Share it in the comments!

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Leslie Nielsen Dead At 84

Leslie Nielsen death at 84

FILE – This 1988 publicity file photo provided by Paramount Pictures shows actor Leslie Nielsen, left, with actress Priscilla Presley in the fim #39;The Naked Gun#39;. The Canadian-born Nielsen, who went from drama to inspired bumbling as a hapless doctor in #39;Airplane!#39; and the accident-prone detective Frank Drebin in #39;The Naked Gun#39; comedies, has died. He was 84. His agent John S. Kelly said the actor died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010, at a hospital near his home in Florida where he was b

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Leslie Nielsen death at 84