Leslie Nielsen Net Worth

Leslie Nielsen's Quotes

• Doing nothing is very hard to do... you never know when you're finished.
• The reason they call it 'golf' is that all the other four-letter words were used up.
• [on the part of his career when he played almost exclusively villains] The best part is always the heavy. And the meaner and crueler and the worse you are, the more vicious you are as the heavy, the better the hero looks when he whips you. So the heavy is liable to be a very dramatic, fine acting part. I told my agent at that time, "I want to play heavies who are really vicious and cruel and terrible. I want them to know that they're terrible and I want them to enjoy it.".
• [on his wrestling a "wild grizzly bear" (it was actually a docile honey bear) in Day of the Animals (1977)] I had to weave and play around with a honey bear, and I could wrestle with him a little bit, but there's no way you can even wrestle a honey bear, let alone a grizzly bear that's standing ten feet to eleven feet tall! Can you imagine? But it was fascinating to work that close to that kind of animal.
• When people are laughing, they don't beat up on you. You're secure and safe. It's when they stop laughing that it's dangerous.

Interesting Facts about Leslie Nielsen

1. Nephew of the late actors Jean Hersholt and Via Hersholt.
2. Older brother was a high-ranking Canadian politician. Erik Nielsen was a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (1957-87) for the Yukon Territory. He served as Leader of the Opposition (1983) and later rose to become the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (1984-86). He died from a massive heart attack on September 4, 2008 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
3. His father was Danish and his mother was Welsh.
4. While in Winnipeg, Canada, to promote their movie Men with Brooms (2002), he and co-star Paul Gross received Honorary Citizenships from Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray at the Granite Curling Club.
5. Became a naturalized United States citizen on November 16, 1958.
6. Attended and graduated from Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton, Alberta.
7. Had one half-brother: Gilbert Nielsen who currently resides in Hobbs, New Mexico.
8. Was made an "Honorary West Virginian and Ambassador of Mountain State Goodwill" on February 20, 2002, by then-Secretary of State of West Virginia Joe Manchin III, now junior United States Senator for West Virginia (elected 2010) after having served as West Virginia Governor since 2004.
9. In fall 2003, the Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada opened the Leslie Nielsen School of Communications, with the actor on hand for the ceremony.
10. He was awarded the OC (Officer of the Order of Canada) by the Governor General of Canada on October 10, 2002 for his services to entertainment.
11. Had two daughters: Maura Nielsen Kaplan and Thea Nielsen Disney.
12. At age 17, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained as an aerial gunner.
13. Auditioned for the role of Messala in Ben-Hur (1959), which went to Stephen Boyd.
14. Film critic Roger Ebert once called him "the Laurence Olivier of spoofs".
15. He was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), which went to Johnny Depp.
16. His father, Ingvard Nielsen, was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer for Northwest Territory and Saskatchewan.
17. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 9, 1988.
18. Attended the Chiller Theater Expo in Parsippany, New Jersey along with actress Jamie Luner of Profiler (1996), John Schneider, Angie Dickinson, Brian O'Halloran, Danny Woodburn, David Hedison, Erik Estrada, Audra Lynn and Barry Williams on October 24, 2008.
19. May have been the first "Trekkie". According to Star Trek (1966) story editor and screenwriter D.C. Fontana, Nielsen called the production office the morning after the first episode and offered high praise. Star Trek was partially inspired by Nielsen's classic Forbidden Planet (1956).
20. He was considered for the role of Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980), which went to Jack Nicholson.