Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Rest In Peace, Captain Harrison

Leslie Nielsen passed away on November 28, 2010 at the age of 84. But before his defining roles in "Airplane!" and the "Naked Gun" movies, he commanded the Queen Mary. Twice.

"Surely you can't be serious!"

I am serious...and don't call me Shirley.

Really, though. Leslie Nielsen appeared as Captain Harrison in "The Poseidon Adventure" back in 1972. Although he gets very little real screen time, his character did strike me as being quite the capable seaman. And is it just me, but does Leslie Nielsen bear a slight resemblance to Captain John Treasure Jones? Captain Harrison, anyway, is presumably killed when the Poseidon capsizes.

Mr. Nielsen would again take "command" in 1985. An episode of "Murder, She Wrote" found Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) aboard a ship bound for the Caribbean and under the command of a Captain Daniels. No doubt the producers thought it would funny to have him reprise his role. Thankfully the ship fared better.

In all seriousness, though, it's sad to hear that Leslie Nielsen is gone. He brought so much laughter and joy to audiences everywhere with his uncanny ability to be silly and hold a straight face. May he rest in peace.

And to conclude this post on something somewhat related to ocean liners:


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