Leslie Nielsen: A Biography

If you know comedy, there's a good chance you've heard of Leslie Nielsen. Since his 1980 breakaway part as Dr. Barry Rumack in Airplane!, the Canadian actor has gone from comedian to legend, from Hollywood thespian to household name. Since that penultimate moment, he's starred in over 200 films, and kept us laughing all the while.

His deadpan means of delivery and playful sense of humor helped to define a genre, and he has, on multiple occasions, been referred to as a master of spoof comedy. The Naked Gun is one of the most beloved series of movies in recent history, and Police Squad! will forever remain a playful indictment of cop drama. It wasn't precisely his filmography that made him so iconic, however.