"Laurence Olivier of Spoofs" Passes Away in his Sleep at Ft. Lauderdale Home.
Nielsen, best known for his portrayal of bumbling detective Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun series of movies (as well as the short-lived Police Squad! TV series) was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and would go on to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force before becoming a disc jockey.
From there, he managed to land a number of roles in Toronto and New York, and starred in 'serious' films and TV shows like Hawaii 5-0, The Poseidon Adventure and Alfred Hitchcock Presents before leaving his mark in the disaster film parody Airplane! in 1980. Like his later work in the Naked Gun series, Nielsen's specialty seemed to be portraying a serious, stoic individual that was oblivious to the absurdity taking place around him.
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