'Tis a sad, sad day.

Airplane! was the first movie our family bought for our first VCR, a 500lb monster with a spring loaded tape ejector that could take an arm off if you weren't cardul. God damn I would watch that movie over and over again as a kid. Farewell funnyman and thanks for the laughs. ;(

Naked Gun was the defining film series of my early adolescence.

When all the other kids were jizzing themselves over whatever is supposed to be special about Star Wars, I was watching Lt. Frank Drebin yell "move along, there's nothing to see here!" while a fireworks factory exploded directly behind him.

Years later I found out the father of one of my best friends had a bit part in Naked Gun 2, during which he gets to utter a single line of dialog to Leslie Nielsen. I met this fellow, and he was not terribly impressive, but I didn't care, because suddenly he served as some sort of link between myself and the man who does not wish to be called Shirley. The man who accidentally kissed Barbara Bush on the mouth in front of the White House press corps. The man some call Buzzam Frog, born on the shores of the Yuralaba River.

Neilson's career really began to take off at a time when most actor's careers are winding down. Here was a man in his 60's whose primary audience was a third his age, and he played to them masterfully. He seemed to understand the difference between aging and becoming old; he did the former, but never appeared to do the latter.

Leslie Neilsen was, and is, one of my heroes. May God rest him.

:(

: '

The TV version of this movie always replaced the word "beaver" with "animal."

I really liked him in Columbo, too.