Leslie Nielsen
Born: February 11 1926
Where: Saskatchewan, Canada
The star turned his authority image inside out when he starred in a run of spoof comedies including Airplane!, The Naked Gun and Scary Movie.
The veteran star had originally made a name for himself on TV before taking a series of granite-jawed roles including the captain of the ill-fated SS Poseidon.
However, in 1980 David Zucker zanily cast him against type in Airplane! and Nielsen - "the Laurence Olivier of Spoofs" - has prospered in offbeat roles up to and including the Scary Movie series.
The son of a Canadian Mounted Policeman, he spent his early years living near the Arctic Circle and served as a gunner in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
(his brother Eric was the Government Leader of the Yukon Territory before becoming a Member of Parliment and the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada).
His TV career began in 1950 with a Studio One appearance with Charlton Heston and he made his Hollywood debut four years later in Michael Curtiz's The Vagabond King.
Signing a long-term contract with MGM, he appeared in films ranging from Ransom! to The Opposite Sex as well opposide Debbie Reynolds in Tammy and the Bachelor.
During the 1960s and 70s, he regularly appeared in the TV action series Wagon Train, The Fugitive, Cannon and Kojak.
In 1972, he played Captain Harrison in disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure and linked up with Zucker five years later in Kentucky Fried Movie.
Extensive TV work followed with appearances in The Love Boat and Fantasy Island before he changed comedy tack to play Dr Rumack in Airplane!
Subsequent big screen appearances included Prom Night, George Romero's Creepshow and Cold War thriller The Patriot.
In 1988, he debuted the character Lt Frank Drebin in cop spoof The Naked Gun (and its two sequels) and also played Dracula in Dracula: Dead and Loving It.
He took the title role in the big screen Mr Magoo and played Dr Richard "Dick" Dix in the parody 2001: A Space Travesty.
In 2003, he played President Harris (broadly based on President George Bush) in Scary Movie 3 and reprised the role in the sequel.
