Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian actor, comedian, and producer. For Disney, he played Lucas in The Golden Girls series finale "One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest", Baxter the Butler in the 1995 Christmas special Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, Dick Steele in the 1996 Hollywood Pictures film Spy Hard, Mr. Magoo in the 1997 film of the same name, Mr. Penn in the 1998 Disney television film Safety Patrol, Santa Claus in Santa Who?, and Col. Francis Marion in The Swamp Fox.
Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943 and served until the end of World War II. Upon his discharge, Nielsen worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to study theatre at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Appearing in serious dramatic roles in his early career with films such as Forbidden Planet, Tammy and the Bachelor, Gunfight in Abilene, The Reluctant Astronaut, Rosie!, Four Rode Out, The Poseidon Adventure, City on Fire, and Prom Night, Nielson's career changed with 1980's Airplane. It marked him a successful comedic actor in later years with Soul Man, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Harvey (1996), Spy Hard, Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4, Superhero Movie, and An American Carol. However, he is best known for his portrayal of Sgt. Frank Drebin The Naked Gun film trilogy, and the short-lived television series Police Squad!,
His other television credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Virginian, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Peyton Place, The Wild Wild West, Bonanza, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, M*A*S*H, Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Murder, She Wrote, Highway to Heaven, Who's the Boss?, Day By Day, and the narrator of the animated children's series Katie and Orbie.
During his lifetime, Nielson received a variety of awards and was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He passed away on November 28, 2010 from pneumonia.
