Sadly, master of the deadpan delivery Leslie Nielsen passed away recently. His most recent films weren’t fantastic, certainly, but he gave the world some great comedy moments on film and TV. Empire have picked their fave Nielsen quotes and most of them made me chuckle out loud, thanks to the actor’s great work with the writing/directing team of Jim Abrahams and Jerry and David Zucker.

The list goes from 1980’s Airplane! (also known as Flying High) to 2003’s Scary Movie 3. His line from Airplane as Dr. Rumack is often repeated (“Don’t call me Shirley”), but he delivered more gold throughout his career, most noteably as Frank Drebin in the short-lived Police Squad TV series and the three Naked Gun films that spun out of the show. Catch the list here and see some merry snippets below.

Frank Drebin: We’re sorry to bother you at such a time like this, Mrs. Twice. We would have come earlier, but your husband wasn’t dead then.

Mr. V: That was nice work. You took a big chance doing that.
Frank Drebin: Well, you take a big chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan.

Frank Drebin: Jane, since I’ve met you, I’ve noticed things that I never knew were there before… birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf, stoplights.

Frank Drebin: This is Frank Drebin, Police Squad. Throw down your guns, and come on out with your hands up. Or come on out, then throw down your guns, whichever way you wanna do it. Just remember the two key elements here: one, guns to be thrown down; two, come on out!

Frank Drebin: Well… We shot a lot of people together. It’s been great. But today I retire, so if I do any shooting now, it’ll have to be within the confines of my own home. Hopefully, an intruder and not an in-law, like at my bachelor party.

December 6, 2010
Categories: Movies . Tags: Leslie Nielsen . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment