Veteran comic actor Leslie Nielsen has passed away at the age of 84.
He died in hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was being treated for pneumonia, said his agent.
The Canadian-born star started out as a serious actor but in 1980, his role as a hapless doctor in the spoof film Airplane! made him a comic icon.
The success of the film led to a TV role in spoof crime show Police Squad, where he first played accident-prone detective Frank Drebin.
He went on to make three films as the character in the Naked Gun series, where he starred opposite Priscilla Presley
In all, he appeared in more than 100 films and had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
"With his friends and his wife by his side, he just fell asleep and passed away," said his nephew Doug Nielsen.
He died in hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was being treated for pneumonia, said his agent.
The Canadian-born star started out as a serious actor but in 1980, his role as a hapless doctor in the spoof film Airplane! made him a comic icon.
The success of the film led to a TV role in spoof crime show Police Squad, where he first played accident-prone detective Frank Drebin.
He went on to make three films as the character in the Naked Gun series, where he starred opposite Priscilla Presley
In all, he appeared in more than 100 films and had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
"With his friends and his wife by his side, he just fell asleep and passed away," said his nephew Doug Nielsen.
No comments:
Post a Comment