In Memoriam: Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010)

Unlikely funnyman Leslie Nielsen, 84, died Sunday of complications from pneumonia in Florida. Although inactive for several years at the time of his death, the loss of Nielsen will be felt by anyone who ever chuckled at his inimitable brand of deadpan comedy. To this day, I still consider Airplane! the funniest film ever made. Police Squad!, the short-lived TV series that inspired the Naked Gun films, was ahead of its time in its rapidfire arsenal of jokes and often surreal sight gags.

Born in Canada, Nielsen had a long career in Hollywood prior to his reinvention as slapstick king. He began acting in feature films in 1956 and scored a significant leading role early on when he played Commander Adams in the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet. Thereafter, he appeared regularly on film and television in a variety of generally serious roles. There was no indication of his comic potential until the team of John Abrahams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker cast him in Airplane! Planted smack-dab in the middle of a chaotic comedy, Nielsen's authoritative baritone and self-serious demeanour became the new high-water mark for deadpan humour.

His post-Naked Gun spoofs - Wrongfully Accused, Spy Hard, etc. - did not achieve the same critical and commercial success as these initial forays into parody. But Nielsen himself was invariably the high point of all of them and could always reliably tickle the audience's funny bone. As of two days ago, the world is just a little less funny.