Accidental Blogger

"Please don't call me Shirley."

by Norman Costa

"Leslie Nielsen began his life as a dramatic actor, starring in films like The Poseidon Adventure and Forbidden Planet, but became famous for parodying the same straight-arrow roles that gave him his start. He was ultimately best known for his comic roles, particularly his portrayal of the incredibly stupid detective from the Naked Gun franchise, Lt. Frank Drebin.

"On Sunday [November 28, 2010], the comic actor, who appeared in more than 100 films in his lifetime, died from complications of pneumonia. He was 84.

"In a 1993 interview on Fresh Air, Nielsen explained how the Naked Gun team — producers-directors-and-writers Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker — initially approached him, as well as Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stack, to star in their 1980 disaster-movie spoof, Airplane!"

For more of Terry Gross' "Surely, Fresh Air Remembers Leslie Nielsen," go HERE.