He began his career playing serious roles, but wound up being a comedy legend. Leslie Nielsen was born today in 1926. Most folks who are familiar with him know him going serious to funny. It was the opposite for me, as I first saw him in Airplane!, Police Squad, and the Naked Gun films first.

When I saw him in those early roles, I was blown away. He was a great actor! His performance in Forbidden Planet was amazing! Then I saw him pop up on TV shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and even Columbo! Each time I saw him I was more and more impressed with him. He was also good as the captain in the movie The Poseidon Adventure. He could be funny, serious, mean, nasty, romantic and more!

In Airplane! he was hilarious. His deadpan delivery is exactly what the directors wanted and it worked. It worked so well, they had him play Lt. Frank Drebin in a short lived show called Police Squad.

The show only lasted 6 episodes, but it laid the groundwork for the Naked Gun films, which featured him again as Drebin.

In his honor today, here is the Theme from Police Squad (and Naked Gun).

Happy Birthday, Leslie!