Leslie Nielsen, who starred in the Airplane! and Naked Gun film comedies, has died aged 84. His agent says Nielsen died on Sunday at a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was being treated for pneumonia. The Canadian actor enjoyed a film and television career spanning more than 60 years but it probably best remembered for playing the bumbling cop Lt Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun franchise. Nielsen went to Hollywood in the mid-1950s after performing in 150 live television dramas in New York. With a craggily handsome face and blond hair he seemed ideal for a movie leading man. He quickly became known as a serious actor, although behind the camera he was a prankster. That was an aspect of his personality never exploited, however, until Airplane! was released in 1980 and became a huge hit. Nielsen died from complications from pneumonia. His wife Barbaree and friends were at his bedside, his agent John S. Kelly said in a statement.
