On Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 6:16 PM, Wesley McGee <[email protected]>wrote:
> This stings like a punch to the gut. Dramatic turned comic actor Leslie > Nielsen died of pneumonia today (I believe). He's been in the hospital for > two weeks. > > http://www.deadline.com/2010/11/r-i-p-leslie-nielsen/ > EW Obit notice: http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/11/28/leslie-nielsen-dies/ And, continuing a trend, they omit one of the key items from his resume - guest star on Columbo. He was in one of the all time great episodes, and was one of the best victims ever. There is something singular about Airplane! More so even than Naked Gun!, in my experience, or memory, Airplane was the kind of film that fans often felt like they discovered on their own, and were proud of themselves for doing so, and impressed by others who did so too. Thirty years later it is common to hear the film praised (though I know there is a vocal backlash, which we may hear here) but I recall at the time that people who thought of themselves as smart thought they were supposed to hate it, and people who did not tend to think of themselves as smart liked it, but didn't exactly know why. They didn't have the internet in those days to efficiently tell hipsters what the underground flavor of the month was supposed to be, so you had to find it on your own. This was not the kind of film that I sought out a lot on my own at the time, but I happened upon it without any preconceptions, and it just knocked me on my ass. I don't know if it is the funniest film ever made, but I remember it that way, because I have never laughed as often or as loud in a movie theater as I did for that. Nielsen was a big part of that. One of the best Columbos ever, and provoking more laughs per frame in movie history - that's not a bad way to be remembered. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
