'Airplane!' and 'Naked Gun' producer/writer/director pays tribute to the actor, who died Sunday.
By Gil Kaufman
Leslie Nielsen
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty Images
Relationships of Hollywood movie sets tend to be shallow, short-lived and mostly a put-on. But when producer/writer/director David Zucker, his brother, Jerry, and their partner Jim Abrahams cast Leslie Nielsen in their 1979 disaster spoof "Airplane!," they had no idea that they would not only provide a second life to a hard-working actor's career, but gain a true friend in the process.
(For photos of the late actor throughout his career, click here.)
David Zucker penned a loving tribute to Nielsen — who died on Sunday at age 84 due to complications from pneumonia — for the Hollywood Reporter on Monday, paying homage to a man he said he was barely aware of when he cast him in the classic comedy, but who came to be one of his favorite people.
"It was summer 1979, a full three weeks before the start of shooting for 'Airplane!' and our casting director had finally had enough. Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Peter Graves and now Leslie ... who?" Zucker said of the career actors who'd been tapped to lampoon their on-screen personas for the film.
"At least audiences had heard of the first three, but this guy — it was true, when it came time to select an actor to play Dr. Rumack, my brother Jerry, Jim Abrahams and I remembered: 'This one guy, he's been in hundreds of television shows, and I think he played the captain of the Poseidon. What's his name?' Our research revealed that the actor's name was Leslie Nielsen. Jim, Jerry and I were thrilled when he agreed to meet, not because he was 'funny' but because of his long résumé of serious films and TV."
The trio thought Nielsen was "hysterical," saying his career of straight dramatic roles made him perfect for the role of clueless doctor Rumack. In fact, when they watched his earlier films they laughed, even if the movies weren't supposed to be funny.
"At our first meeting, he mentioned proudly that he had done an episode of 'M*A*S*H*.' We assured him we wouldn't count this brief comedy experience against him. But when he read the 'Airplane!' script, he 'got' its unconventional nature and offbeat style. We heard later that he told his agent, 'Take whatever they offer; I'd pay them to do this.'
"Arguably the best role was that of Dr. Rumack, played by the guy no one wanted or ever suspected would be funny, much less go on to have a second career starring in feature films as a goofball comic," Zucker continues. "Leslie was great in the role because he never 'winked' — let on that he knew he was in a comedy. This was essential to the style, and Leslie had a natural instinct for it."
They went on to an "Airplane!" sequel and a trio of "Naked Gun" movies and a "Police Squad!" TV series. And in all those projects, Zucker said he and his partners didn't have to shower Nielsen with praise to let him know he was nailing it. When he heard Zucker laughing during the take, Nielsen knew he'd nailed it.
"Tough to just sit there silently during 'Nice beaver!' "Zucker wrote of cracking up on set. "Offscreen, he wasn't so much of a joke or storyteller but a chronic prankster. The stories are legion about the fart machine, which he kept hidden and sprang on any hapless stranger who approached him. He used it on set, on talk shows, anywhere he could find a victim. One time, at a press junket in Charlotte, I remember watching Leslie let loose with the device on a crowded elevator, the other occupants squirming up against the walls in an effort to distance themselves. And just like the scenes we put him in, he never broke character, never let on that he knew he was being funny."
For a man who had spent his career playing it straight, Nielsen relished his newfound status as an "international comedy icon," treating it as a kind of prank he'd pulled on the rest of us.
Zucker said he always tried to find a slot for Nielsen in his movies as the years went on and Nielsen was always happy to oblige. And, invariably, he was the funniest part of each project.
"We invariably would get to discussing our history together, reminiscing a bit and renewing our good-natured debate about who the hell was luckier to have met the other, Leslie Nielsen or the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team," Zucker said of their later encounters. "The truth was, all of us knew how grateful we were to have each other in our lives, both professionally and personally, and we expressed it to each other often. Leslie was grateful for everything in his life (most especially his wife Barbaree), almost as though he didn't feel he deserved any of it. Maybe that's why he was so happy. "And maybe that's why he was so good at making everyone else happy."
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