ACTOR LESLIE NIELSEN DIES AT AGE 84

The famous actor who played the hilarious doctor in the comedy classic Airplane (1980) and zany detective in The Naked Gun comedies died at age 84 today in a hospital near Ft. Lauderdale where he was being treated for pneumonia.

MeaLee

via Fox News [Cleveland]
The Canadian-born Nielsen came to Hollywood in the mid-1950s after performing in 150 live television dramas in New York. With a craggily handsome face, blond hair and 6-foot-2 height, he seemed ideal for a movie leading man.

He quickly became known as a serious actor, although behind the camera he was a prankster. That was an aspect of his personality never exploited, however, until "Airplane!" was released in 1980 and became a huge hit.