/ Stars that died in 2023

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Sir Maurice Wilkes, British computer scientist. died he was , 97

Sir Maurice Vincent Wilkes FRS, FREng, DFBCS [1] was a British computer scientist credited with several important developments in computing died he was , 97. At the time of his death, Wilkes was an Emeritus Professor of the University of Cambridge. He received a number of distinctions: he was a knight bachelor, Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Royal Society.

(26 June 1913 – 29 November 2010)

 Early life, education, and military service

Wilkes was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, England[2] and grew up in Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, where his father worked on the estate of the Earl of Dudley. He was educated at King Edward VI College, Stourbridge and during his school years he was introduced to amateur radio by his chemistry teacher.[3] He went on to read Mathematics at St. John's College, Cambridge from 1931 to 1934, continuing to complete a Ph.D. in physics on the topic of radio propagation of very long radio waves in the ionosphere in 1936.[4] He was appointed to a junior faculty position of the University of Cambridge through which he was involved in the establishment of a computing laboratory.
Wilkes was called up for military service during WWII and worked on radar at the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), and in operational research.

Initiation into electronic computing

In 1945, Wilkes was appointed as the second director of the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory (later known as the Computer Laboratory).[2]
The Cambridge laboratory initially had many different computing devices, including a differential analyser. Wilkes obtained a copy of John von Neumann's prepress description of the EDVAC, a successor to the ENIAC under construction by Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering. He had to read it overnight because he had to return it and no photocopy facilities existed. He decided immediately that the document described the logical design of future computing machines, and that he wanted to be involved in the design and construction of such machines.
In August 1946 Wilkes traveled by ship to the United States to enroll in the Moore School Lectures, of which he was only able to attend the final two weeks because of various travel delays. During his time in the United States he visited all of the relevant American sites of computing progress and became intimately familiar with the ENIAC, for a while even living next door to Mauchly on Philadelphia's St. Marks Street.

EDSAC

Since his laboratory had its own funding, he was immediately able to start work on a small practical machine, the EDSAC, once back at Cambridge. He decided that his mandate was not to invent a better computer, but simply to make one available to the university. Therefore his approach was relentlessly practical. He used only proven methods for constructing each part of the computer. The resulting computer was slower and smaller than other planned contemporary computers. However, his laboratory's computer was the first practical stored program computer to be completed, and operated successfully from May 1949.

Other computing developments

In 1951, he developed the concept of microprogramming from the realisation that the Central Processing Unit of a computer could be controlled by a miniature, highly specialised computer program in high-speed ROM. This concept greatly simplified CPU development. Microprogramming was first described at the Manchester University Computer Inaugural Conference in 1951, then published in expanded form in IEEE Spectrum in 1955. This concept was implemented for the first time[5] in EDSAC 2, which also used multiple identical "bit slices" to simplify design. Interchangeable, replaceable tube assemblies were used for each bit of the processor. This was extremely advanced for the time.
The next computer for his laboratory was the Titan, a joint venture with Ferranti Ltd. It eventually supported the UK's first time-sharing system and provided wider access to computing resources in the university, including time-shared graphics systems for mechanical CAD.
A notable design feature of the Titan's operating system was that it provided controlled access based on the identity of the program, as well as or instead of, the identity of the user. It introduced the password encryption system used later by Unix. Its programming system also had an early version control system.
Wilkes is also credited with the idea of symbolic labels, macros, and subroutine libraries. These are fundamental developments that made programming much easier and paved the way for high-level programming languages.
Later, Wilkes worked on an early timesharing systems (now termed a multi-user operating system) and distributed computing.
Toward the end of the 1960s, Wilkes also became interested in capability-based computing, and the laboratory assembled a unique computer, the Cambridge CAP.
In 1974 Wilkes encountered a Swiss data network (at Hasler AG) that used a ring topology to allocate time on the network. The laboratory initially used a prototype to share peripherals. Eventually, commercial partnerships were formed, and similar technology became widely available in England.

Awards, honours, and leadership positions

In 1956 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
He was a founder member of the British Computer Society (BCS) and its first president (1957–1960).
Wilkes received the Turing Award in 1967, with the following citation: "Professor Wilkes is best known as the builder and designer of the EDSAC, the first computer with an internally stored program. Built in 1949, the EDSAC used a mercury delay line memory. He is also known as the author, with Wheeler and Gill, of a volume on Preparation of Programs for Electronic Digital Computers in 1951, in which program libraries were effectively introduced." In 1968 he received the Harry H. Goode Memorial Award, with the following citation: "For his many original achievements in the computer field, both in engineering and software, and for his contributions to the growth of professional society activities and to international cooperation among computer professionals."
In 1980 he retired from his professorships and post as the head of the laboratory and joined the central engineering staff of Digital Equipment Corporation in Maynard, Massachusetts.[2]
He was awarded the Faraday Medal by the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1981. The Maurice Wilkes Award, awarded annually for an outstanding contribution to computer architecture made by a young computer scientist or engineer, is named after him.
In 1986 Wilkes returned to England, and became a member of Olivetti's Research Strategy Board. In 1993 Wilkes was presented, by Cambridge University, an honorary Doctor of Science degree. In 1994 he was inducted as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery. He was awarded the Mountbatten Medal in 1997. He was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours List. In 2002, Wilkes moved back to the Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, as an Emeritus Professor.[2]
In his memoirs Wilkes wrote:


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Jon D'Agostino, Italian-born American comic book artist (Archie Comics), died from bone cancer he was , 81

John P. D'Agostino Sr.,[1] generally credited as Jon D'Agostino was an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his Archie Comics work. As well, under the pseudonym Johnny Dee, he was the letterer for the lead story in the Marvel Comics landmark The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963), as well as other seminal Marvel comics died from  bone cancer he was , 81.
D'Agostino is not the French comics artist Tony D'Agostino, a.k.a. Tony Dagos, whose early work was signed "D'Agostino". He is also not the concurrent early-Marvel letter John Duffy a.k.a. John Duffi,[5] although he is listed as such in some databases.[6]

(June 13, 1929 – November 28, 2010)

Biography

Early career

Jon D'Agostino was born in Cervinara, Italy, the son of Pasquale and Annunziata Pitanello D'Agostino.[7] He emigrated to the United States[4] with his family during childhood, and later attended either the Industrial School of Art in Los Angeles, California,[5] or New York City's School of Industrial Art and the Art Students League.[8] (Sources vary.) His siblings were brothers Peter, Ted, Charles and William, the latter two of whom predeceased him, and sisters Lucielle and Gina.[7]
D'Agostino's earliest known work in the comics medium was as head colorist for Timely Comics, the 1940s forerunner of Marvel Comics. In that capacity, in 1949, he mentored new-hire Stan Goldberg, a 16-year-old colorist who would later become one of Archie Comics' most prominent cartoonists.[9] Goldberg in 2005 recalled, "I found out there was an opening in the coloring department at Timely Comics, so I went up there. They needed another body to be in the room that handled the coloring, and that's where I worked. ...[T]he man who was in charge of the coloring department is still a dear friend of mine, Jon D'Agostino."[9]
Writer and artist credits were not routinely given during this period fans and historians refer to as the Golden Age of Comic Books, making full bibliographies difficult for many of the medium's pioneering creators. D'Agostino's first confirmed comics credit is penciling and inking the seven-page romance comic story "Glamor Killed My Love" (as John D'Agostino) in Romantic Hearts #6 (Feb. 1952), from publisher Story Comics. Other early credits, all using the first name "Jon", include horror stories in Master Publications' Dark Mysteries #14 (Oct. 1953), and inking the cover and the lead Rocky Jones, Space Ranger story in the science-fiction anthology series Space Adventures #18 (Sept. 1955), the first of his countless works for Charlton Comics.
He married his first wife, Jean D'Onofrio D'Agostino, in 1955. They remained married until her death in 1992, and had three sons: John Jr., Peter, and Pat.[7][1]

Later career

Through the 1950s and into the 1960s, D'Agostino fully drew or simply inked across a variety of titles for Charlton, including romance comics (Sweethearts); war comics (Attack, Fightin' Army); funny animal comics and other types of children's comics (Pudgy Pig, Timmy the Timid Ghost); and teen humor comics (Freddy, and the TV-series licensed comic My Little Margie). He occasionally inked penciler Matt Baker under the joint pseudonym Matt Bakerino.[10]
As Johnny Dee, he lettered the lead story in the Marvel Comics' landmark The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963).[11][12]
In the mid-1960s and continuing through the 1970s, D'Agostino began contributing to Archie Comics and Gold Key Comics in addition to Charlton, both as an artist and as a letterer. In the 1980s he was inking primarily for Archie and for Marvel, including on the latter's G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, Marvel Two-In-One, and, for Marvel's Star Comics children's imprint, Planet Terry and Royal Roy.
By 1990, D'Agostino was exclusively inking for Archie, on teen-humor stories for such titles as Archie's Pals 'N' Gals, Jughead's Time Police, Explorers of the Unknown (a light adventure comic starring the Archie gang), Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and the video-game licensed comic Sonic the Hedgehog.
Following the 1992 death of his first wife, he married Elvira "Vivi" Testa D'Agostino in 1995.[1] The two lived in The Bronx, New York City.[1]
D'Agostino's last known published credit was inking the cover of Betty #173 (June 2008),[13] although Archie Comics said in a statement announcing his death that his last interior work would appear in Jughead Double Digest #166, as part of the four-part "Cyrano Jones" story, "and several of his covers will be seen through 2011."[7] D'Agostino died of bone cancer in Ansonia, Connecticut,[4][7] where two of his sons live.[1]

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Samuel T. Cohen, American physicist, inventor of the neutron bomb, died from cancer he was , 89

 Samuel Theodore Cohen[1]  was an American physicist who invented the W70 warhead, more popularly known as the neutron bomb  died from cancer he was , 89.

(January 25, 1921 – November 28, 2010)

Biography

Cohen's parents were Jews who immigrated from London, England. He was born on January 25, 1921 in Brooklyn and raised in New York City. He studied math and physics at UCLA before joining the Army after Pearl Harbor.[2] In 1944 he worked on the Manhattan project in the efficiency group and calculated how neutrons behaved in Fat Man, the atomic bomb that was later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. After the war he studied for his Ph.D at Berkeley before dropping out to join the RAND Corporation.[2] At RAND Corporation in 1950, his work on the intensity of fallout radiation first became public when his calculations were included as a special appendix in Samuel Glasstone's book The Effects of Atomic Weapons. Cohen was personally responsible for recruiting the famous strategist Herman Kahn into the RAND Corporation.[3]
During the Vietnam War, Cohen argued that using small neutron bombs would end the war quickly and save many American lives, but politicians were not amenable to his ideas and other scientists ignored the neutron bomb in reviewing the role of nuclear weapons.[4] He was a member of the Los Alamos Tactical Nuclear Weapons Panel in the early 1970s. President Carter delayed development of the neutron bomb in 1978,[5] but during Ronald Reagan's presidency, Cohen claims to have convinced Reagan to make 700 neutron bombs, 350 shells to go into the 8 inch (200-millimetre) howitzer and 350 W70 warheads for the Lance missile.[6]

'Clean' nuclear tests

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the testing of a 95% 'clean' (2-stage) fusion weapon, later identified to have been the 11 July Navajo test at Bikini Atoll during Operation Redwing. This weapon had a 4.5 megatons yield. Previous 'dirty' weapons had fission proportions of 50-77%, due to the use of uranium-238 as a 'pusher' around the lithium deuteride (secondary) stage. (The fusion neutrons have energies of up to 14.1 MeV, well exceeding the 1.1 MeV 'fission threshold' for U-238.) The 1956 'clean' tests used a lead pusher, while in 1958 a tungsten carbide pusher was employed. Hans A. Bethe supported clean nuclear weapons in 1958 as Chairman of a Presidential science advisory group on nuclear testing:[7]
... certain hard targets require ground bursts, such as airfield runways if it is desired to make a crater, railroad yards if severe destruction of tracks is to be accomplished... The use of clean weapons in strategic situations may be indicated in order to protect the local population.
– Dr Hans Bethe, Working Group Chairman, 27 March 1958 "Top Secret - Restricted Data" Report to the NSC Ad Hoc Working Group on the Technical Feasibility of a Cessation of Nuclear Testing, p 9.
In consequence of Bethe's recommendations, on 12 July 1958, the Hardtack-Poplar shot of the Mk-41C warhead was carried out on a barge in the lagoon yielded 9.3 megatons, of which only 4.8% was fission, and thus 95.2% "clean".
Cohen in 1958 investigated a low-yield 'clean' nuclear weapon and discovered that the 'clean' bomb case thickness scales as the cube-root of yield. So a larger percentage of neutrons escapes from a small detonation, due to the thinner case required to reflect back X-rays during the secondary stage (fusion) ignition. For example, a 1-kiloton bomb only needs a case 1/10th the thickness of that required for 1-megaton.
So although most neutrons are absorbed by the casing in a 1-megaton bomb, in a 1-kiloton bomb they would mostly escape. A neutron bomb is only feasible if the yield is sufficiently high that efficient fusion stage ignition is possible, and if the yield is low enough that the case thickness will not absorb too many neutrons. This means that neutron bombs have a yield range of 1-10 kilotons, with fission proportion varying from 50% at 1-kiloton to 25% at 10-kilotons (all of which comes from the primary stage). The neutron output per kiloton is then 10-15 times greater than for a pure fission implosion weapon or for a strategic warhead like a W87 or W88.[8]

U.S. Department of Defense manual on the neutron bomb

Cohen's neutron bomb is not mentioned in the unclassified manual by Glasstone and Dolan, The Effects of Nuclear Weapons 1957-77, but is included as an 'enhanced neutron weapon' in chapter 5 of the declassified (formerly secret) manual edited by Philip J. Dolan, Capabilities of Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Department of Defense, effects manual DNA-EM-1, updated 1981 (U.S. Freedom of Information Act).
Provided that the weapon was not used in a thunderstorm, no fallout effects would occur from the use of a neutron bomb according to that manual, as the combination of 500 m burst altitude and low yield prevents fallout in addition to significant thermal and blast effects. The reduction in damage outside the target area is a major advantage of such a weapon to deter massed tank invasions. An aggressor would thus be forced to disperse tanks, which would make them easier to destroy by simple hand-held anti-tank missile launchers.
Cohen's backing of investigations into these controversial ideas won him some media attention after many years of being ignored. In 1992 he was featured in the award-winning BBC TV series Pandora's Box, episode To the Brink of Eternity, discussing his battles with officialdom and colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Cohen controversially argued: "When we started this systems analysis business, we stepped through the looking glass where people did the weirdest things and (used) the most perverse kind of logic imaginable and yet claimed to have the most precise understanding of everything."[9]

Alleged support from the Pope for low yield tactical nuclear bombs

Cohen reportedly worked in France on low-yield, highly discriminate tactical nuclear weapons in 1979-80.[10] He claimed that he was awarded a medal by Pope John Paul II in 1979 for his bid to reform modern warfare.[11] Author Charles Platt reported in a 2005 profile of Sam Cohen that "...he showed me the Medal of Peace that he had received from the Pope in 1979."[12]
At the time, Warsaw Pact forces had a massive tank superiority in Europe (though NATO maintained an overall strategic superiority); the Christian Science Monitor reported in 1981 that there were "19,500 tanks in the Soviet-controlled forces of the Warsaw Pact aimed at Western Europe. Of these, 12,500 are Soviet tanks in Soviet units. NATO has 7,000 tanks on its side facing the 19,500."[13] A deterrent which was designed to minimise civilian casualties was a step away from the risk of indiscriminate warfare. The neutron bomb's killing by neutron radiation is different from the fallout of a normal high yield thermonuclear weapon because it can be controlled more precisely, restricted to military targets and kept away from civilians.[citation needed]
The speed of modern warfare meant that the civilian population would be unlikely to be able to withdraw from combat zones and would suffer a large number of deaths in a nuclear war where the blast yields and fallout were significant. Because neutron bombs do not produce the indiscriminate blast (only 40 kilopascals at ground zero from a 1 kt blast yield detonation at 500 m altitude, and only 7 kPa at 2 km distance), heat and fallout damage of other nuclear weapons, they were more credible as a deterrent to Soviet tanks. However, many people believed that the very deployment of the neutron bomb threatened an escalation to full scale nuclear retaliation, thus canceling out the supposed benefits. Advances in precision anti-tank weapons ultimately made the neutron bomb redundant tactically in its original objective. The debate over "clean" low yield nuclear weapons continues with earth penetrator technology ("nuclear bunker busters").

Red Mercury claims

More recently, Cohen was the main proponent of what most consider to be a mythical substance, red mercury. If the "conventional story" is to be believed, red mercury was a disinformation campaign led by US government agencies in order to lure potential terrorists into being captured. The story that was released was that red mercury was developed by the Soviet Union as a "shortcut" to a fusion bomb, and that with the fall of the Soviet Union it was being offered on the market by the Soviet mafia. When prospective buyers showed up to take delivery of the material, they were arrested.
During the height of the story, in the 1990s, Cohen became a proponent of red mercury, claiming not only that it existed, but going further to claim that it was a powerful ballotechnic material that directly compressed the fusion fuel without the need for a fission primary. Bombs using red mercury had no real critical mass and could be developed at any size. He further claimed that the Soviets had produced a number of "micro-nukes" based on red mercury, which are described as being about as large as a baseball and weighing 10 pounds. According to Cohen, their existence meant that any effort to control nuclear proliferation based on fissile material was thus hopeless. A reiteration of the claim can be seen in The Nuclear Threat That Doesn't Exist – or Does It?, by Cohen and Joe Douglass in an 11 March 2003 guest editorial in Financial Sense Online.[10]
Cohen later went on to claim that 100 of these mini-nukes were in the hands of terrorists,[14] and later that Saddam Hussein had taken delivery of about fifty of these devices, which he supposedly planned on using against the US forces as they approached Baghdad.
In the face of claims that red mercury was a disinformation campaign, Cohen claimed that Russia has such weapons, "red mercury" exists as claimed, and the US, among the technical elite, take it seriously, while at the same time starting a disinformation campaign claiming "red mercury" is bogus in order to assuage the public. Independent confirmation of such claims in the article is lacking.

Political involvement

Cohen spoke at an April 2000 fundraiser in La Canada, California, for then-Reform Party presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan.[15] Irv Rubin was prominently present at this event, with his organization, the Jewish Defense League (JDL), and with members of the Libertarian Party, to protest. The JDL posted Cohen's home phone number and address on its website, urging its members to contact him, to persuade him to stop supporting Buchanan.[16]
In her address to the 2000 Reform Party National Convention, Buchanan's running mate, Ezola Foster, cited Cohen's endorsement of Buchanan to refute the claim that the candidate was anti-Semitic.[17]

Death

He died on November 28, 2010 from complications of his stomach cancer.[18]

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Gil McDougald, American baseball player (New York Yankees), died from prostate cancer he was , 82

 Gilbert James McDougald  was an American infielder who spent all ten seasons of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1960 died from prostate cancer he was , 82. He was a member of eight American League (AL) pennant winners and five World Series Champions. He was also the AL Rookie of the Year in 1951 and a five-time All-Star. He was most remembered for accidentally hitting a line drive that severely injured Herb Score's right eye in 1957.

(May 19, 1928 – November 28, 2010)

Early life

He was born in San Francisco, California, and attended the University of San Francisco.

Major League career

He played his first major league game on April 20, 1951. On May 3 of that year, he tied a major league record, since broken, by batting in six runs in one inning.[1] Later in the year, in the World Series, he became the first rookie to hit a grand slam home run in the Series. He narrowly beat out Minnie MiƱoso in the voting for the 1951 American League Rookie of the Year. His entire major league career was spent on the New York Yankees, wearing uniform number 12. He was a versatile player, playing all the infield positions except first base: 599 games at second base, 508 games at third, and 284 at shortstop. He played in five All-Star Games: in 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, and 1959.
McDougald led all American League infielders in double plays at three different positions - at third base (1952), at second base (1955) and shortstop (1957). He was the double play leader at shortstop despite sharing time at the position with rookie Tony Kubek.
On May 7, 1957, McDougald, batting against Herb Score of the Cleveland Indians, hit a line drive that hit Score in the right eye. It caused Score to miss the rest of the 1957 and much of the 1958 season. While addressing reporters following the contest, McDougald said, "If Herb loses the sight in his eye, I'm going to quit the game." Score regained his vision and returned to pitching in the majors late in 1958, but arm problems led to a premature end to a promising career.[2]
Ironically, only two years before, McDougald was struck in the left ear during batting practice by a ball hit by teammate Bob Cerv. Though initially believed to be a concussion (he missed only a few games), McDougald soon lost the hearing in his left ear and later also in his right. He retired in 1960 at only age 32, though not directly because of his hearing loss.[3]
In 1958, McDougald was given the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, which is awarded annually by the Phi Delta Theta fraternity (to which Gehrig belonged) at Columbia University.
His last appearance was in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates; as a pinch runner in the top of the ninth, he scored on Yogi Berra's ground ball to tie the game at 9-9. The Pirates, however, won the Series on Bill Mazeroski's walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth.
McDougald decided to retire as an active player after the Fall Classic when it appeared that the Yankees were going to leave him unprotected for the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft with the strong likelihood that he was going to be selected by either the Los Angeles Angels or Washington Senators.[2]

Personal life

McDougald was a former baseball coach at Fordham University. He lived in Wall Township, New Jersey, until his death.
His hearing loss was somewhat restored by a cochlear implant he received during a surgery at the New York University Medical Center in 1994. McDougald had since been a paid spokeperson for the manufacturer, Cochlear Americas, including benefits for hearing organizations and testimony before Congress.[3]
McDougald died of prostate cancer at his home in Wall Township, New Jersey, at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife, seven children, and 14 grandchildren.[4]

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Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-born American actor (Airplane!, The Naked Gun), died from pneumonia he was , 84

Leslie+Nielsen
 Leslie William Nielsen, OC [1] was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian.[2][3] Nielsen appeared in over one hundred films and 1,500 television ied from pneumonia he was , 84.
 programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.[4] Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to Neighborhood Playhouse. Making his television debut in 1948, he quickly expanded to over 50 television appearances two years later. Nielsen made his film debut in 1956, and began collecting roles in dramas, westerns, and romance films. Nielsen's lead roles in the films Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) received positive reviews as a serious actor, though he is primarily known for his comedic roles.

(11 February 1926 – 28 November 2010)

Leslie+Nielsen1Although Nielsen's acting career crossed a variety of genres in both television and films, his deadpan delivery in Airplane! (1980) marked a turning point in his career, one that would make him, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert, "the Olivier of spoofs."[5] Nielsen enjoyed further success with The Naked Gun film series (1988 – 1994), based on a short-lived television series Police Squad! in which he starred earlier. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian.[6] In the final two decades of his career, Nielsen appeared in multiple spoof and parody films, many of which were met poorly by critics, but performed well in box office and home media releases. Nielsen married four times and had two daughters from his second marriage. He was recognized with a variety of awards throughout his career, and was inducted into both the Canada and Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life


Nielsen was born on 11 February 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan.[7] His mother, Mabel Elizabeth (nĆ©e Davies), was a Welsh immigrant from Fulham, London, and his father, Ingvard Eversen Nielsen, was a Danish-born Constable in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.[8][9][10] Nielsen had two brothers; his older brother, Erik Nielsen (1924–2008), was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada during the 1980s.[11] Ingvard beat his wife and children; that made Nielsen want to escape.[12]
Their half-uncle, Jean Hersholt, was an actor best known for his portrayal of Dr. Christian in the long-running radio series of the same name and the subsequent television series and films.[13][14] In a 1994 The Boston Globe article, Nielsen explained, "I did learn very early that when I would mention my uncle, people would look at me as if I were the biggest liar in the world. Then I would take them home and show them 8-by-10 glossies, and things changed quite drastically. So I began to think that maybe this acting business was not a bad idea, much as I was very shy about it and certainly without courage regarding it. My uncle died not too long after I was in a position to know him. I regret that I had not a chance to know him better."[13]
Nielsen spent several years living in Fort Norman (now Tulita), Northwest Territories where his father was stationed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.[13][15] At the age of seventeen, following his graduation from Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was trained as an aerial gunner during the latter part of World War II (but was too young to be fully trained or sent overseas).[16] He worked briefly as a disc jockey at a Calgary, Alberta radio station, before enrolling at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, Toronto.[13][17] While studying in Toronto, Nielsen received a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse. He noted, "I couldn't refuse, but I must say when you come from the land of the snow goose, the moose and wool to New York, you're bringing every ton of hayseed and country bumpkin that you packed. As long as I didn't open my mouth, I felt a certain security. But I always thought I was going to be unmasked: 'OK, pack your stuff.' 'Well, what's the matter?' 'We've discovered you have no talent; we're shipping you back to Canada.'"[13] He moved to New York City for his scholarship,[7] studying theater and music at the Neighborhood Playhouse, while performing in summer stock theatre.[18] Afterward, he attended the Actors Studio,[19] until making his first television appearance in 1948 on an episode of Studio One, alongside Charlton Heston,[20] for which he was paid US$75. [13]

Career

Early career

350px-ForbiddenPlanet1 Nielsen's career began in dramatic roles on television during what is known as "Television's Golden Age",[21] appearing in almost 50 live programs in 1950 alone.[22] Nielsen reported that for his salary that there "[...] was very little gold, we only got $75 or $100 per show."[22] His distinct voice narrated several documentaries and commercials but, with a handful of exceptions, his early work as a dramatic actor was uneventful.[23] Hal Erickson of Allmovie noted, "...much of Nielsen's early work was undistinguished; he was merely a handsome leading man in an industry overstocked with handsome leading men."[23] In 1956 he made his feature film debut in the Michael Curtiz-directed musical film The Vagabond King.[24] In the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nielsen pointed out that he remembers Curtiz as "a sadist, a charming sadist, but a sadist".[20] Nielsen would go on to call this film "The Vagabond Turkey".[25] Though the film was not a box office success, Nielsen caught the eye of producer Nicholas Nayfack who offered him an audition for a role in the science fiction film Forbidden Planet, resulting in Nielsen being signed to a long-term contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer (MGM).[20][26]
magnify-clip
Nielsen, along with co-star Anne Francis, in his second film, Forbidden Planet (1956). Nielsen: "Supposedly a science fiction version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, it was all about the id, or something like that. Who knows? The Trekkies today regard it as the forerunner of Star Trek. I just had to wear a tight uniform and make eyes at Anne Francis. I was pretty thin back then."[27]
Forbidden Planet became an instant success,[28] and roles in other MGM films such as Ransom! (1956), The Opposite Sex (1956) and Hot Summer Night (1957) followed.[29] In 1957 he won the lead role opposite Debbie Reynolds in the romantic comedy Tammy and the Bachelor, which, as a Chicago Tribune critic wrote in 1998, made people consider Nielsen as both a dramatic actor and a handsome romantic lead.[30] However, dissatisfied with the quality of the films he was offered, calling the studios "[..] a Tiffany, which had forgotten how to make silver", Nielsen left MGM, but not before auditioning for the role of Messala in the 1959 historical piece Ben-Hur. Stephen Boyd was eventually given the role.[31][32] After leaving the studios, Nielsen landed the lead role in the Disney miniseries The Swamp Fox, as American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion.[33] In a 1988 interview he reflected on the series, stating, "That was a great experience, because the Disney people didn't do their shows like everyone else, knocking out an episode a week. [...] We only had to do an episode a month, and the budgets were extremely high for TV at that time. We had location shooting rather than cheap studio backdrops, and very authentic costumes."[34] Eight episodes were produced and aired between 1959 and 1961.[33]
His television appearances include parts in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Virginian, and The Wild Wild West. In 1961, he was the lead in a taut Los Angeles police drama called The New Breed. In 1968, he had a major role in the pilot film for the popular police series Hawaii Five-O, and later appeared in one of the seventh season episodes. In 1969, he had the leading role as a police officer in The Bold Ones: The Protectors.
In 1972, Nielsen appeared as the ship's captain in the all-star disaster epic The Poseidon Adventure. He also starred in the William Girdler-directed 1977 action film Project: Kill. His last role before portraying mainly comedy roles was the Canadian disaster film City on Fire in which he played a corrupt mayor. In 1980, he guest starred as Sinclair on the CBS miniseries The Chisholms.

Airplane! and The Naked Gun



Critics praised the film, which also proved to be a success with audiences.[39] The film's directors, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, chose Nielsen for the role based on his ability to play "a fish in water", stating that "You could have cast funny people and done it with everybody winking, goofing off, and silly...we wanted people to be oblivious to the comedy."[38] For Nielsen, Airplane! marked a shift from dramatic roles to a new focus on deadpan comedy. When it was suggested that his role in Airplane! was against type, Nielsen protested that he had "always been cast against type before," and that comedy was what he always really wanted to do.[40]
The directors, interested in the success of the new comedy, decided to bring a similar style of comedy to television, casting Nielsen in the lead role in their new series, Police Squad!. The series introduced Nielsen as Frank Drebin, the stereotypical police officer modeled after serious characters in earlier police TV series.
Police Squad's opening sequence was based on the 1950s cop show M Squad, (which starred Lee Marvin), which opened with footage of a police car roving through an after-dark urban setting with a big band playing a jazz theme song in the background. The voice-over and the show's organization into "acts" with an epilogue was homage to Quinn Martin police dramas including The Fugitive, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, The F.B.I., and Cannon. Much like in Airplane!, Nielsen portrayed a serious character whose one-liners appeared accidental next to the pratfalls and sight gags around him. Although the show was quickly canceled, lasting only six episodes after being juggled between time slots, Nielsen received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.[41]
With the exception of Airplane!, Nielsen had not been known as a comedian. His roles continued to be small and sporadic, such as Prom Night (1980) and Creepshow (1982), both horror films. Nielsen's most recent non-comedic role was a cameo appearance as Allen Green, a sleazy character who is murdered by Barbra Streisand's character, Claudia Draper, in Martin Ritt's courtroom drama Nuts (1987).
Six years after the cancellation of Police Squad!, its directors decided to make a feature length version for theaters. Titled The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. The film returned Nielsen to his role as Frank Drebin. It involved a comical scheme of a ruthless drug kingpin using hypnosis in an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. Drebin, like the doctor in Airplane!, seemed unaware of the absurdity around him even when unintentionally contributing toward it. Nielsen later said in an interview that he had done many of his own stunts, "You have an idea of how you're going to do something, and it's your vision... unless you do it, it really doesn't stand a chance."[35] This movie grossed over $78 million at the box office and was well-received by critics.[42][43] Ebert's 3½–star review (out of four) noted, "You laugh, and then you laugh at yourself for laughing."[44]
The Naked Gun spawned two sequels: The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994). Naked Gun 2½ grossed more than the original, with $86,930,400, while Naked Gun 33⅓ grossed $51,132,600 in receipts.[45][46] Nielsen remained open to the prospects of acting in a fourth Naked Gun film, although he doubted that it would ever be produced—"I don't think so," he said in 2005. "If there hasn't been one by now, I doubt it. I think it would be wonderful."[47]
Nielsen briefly appeared on the World Wrestling Federation program in the summer of 1994 on Monday Night RAW; capitalizing on his Frank Drebin character, Nielsen (and George Kennedy) were hired as "super-sleuths" to unravel the mystery of The Undertaker who had disappeared at January's Royal Rumble event. At SummerSlam 1994, in a Naked Gun parody, they were hot on the case (in fact, they were literally standing on a case). Although they did not actually find The Undertaker, the case had been closed (the literal case had been shut) and thus, they solved the mystery.[48]

Later comedies

Leslie+Nielsen3Nielsen attempted a variety of similar roles with none achieving the prominence of Frank Drebin. These films mostly emulated the style of The Naked Gun series with varying degrees of critical and commercial success: many were panned by critics and most performed poorly. In 1986, Nielsen played against recent type as a dramatic (and unsympathetic) character in the comedy, Soul Man. In 1990, Nielsen also appeared as a Frank Drebin-style character in a series of advertisements in the United Kingdom for Red Rock Cider.

Although The Naked Gun series parodied police dramas in general, Nielsen's later parody films focused on specific targets. Critics panned Repossessed (1990) and 2001: A Space Travesty (2001), parodies of The Exorcist and 2001: A Space Odyssey, respectively. Both films attempted the absurdist comedy Nielsen is recognized for, but were poorly received.[49][50] Even a leading role in a Mel Brooks comic horror parody, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, failed to generate much box office excitement, although it did gain somewhat of a following on its later release to video. Both 1996's Spy Hard and 1998's Wrongfully Accused, a parody of James Bond films and The Fugitive, respectively, received more popularity on home video but were not well-received by critics.[51][52]
His attempt at children's comedies met with additional criticism. Surf Ninjas (1993) and Mr. Magoo (1997) faced scathing reviews. Several critics were disappointed that Nielsen's role in Surf Ninjas was only "an extended cameo" and film critic Chris Hicks recommended that viewers "...avoid any comedy that features Leslie Nielsen outside of the Naked Gun series."[53][54] Jeff Miller of the Houston Chronicle panned Mr. Magoo, a live action remake of the 1950s cartoon, by saying, "I'm supposed to suggest how the film might be better but I can't think of anything to say other than to make the film again."[55]
Nielsen's first major slapstick success since The Naked Gun came in a supporting role in Scary Movie 3 (2003). His appearance as President Harris proved popular enough for a second appearance in its sequel, Scary Movie 4 (2006). This became the first time Nielsen reprised a character since his appearances as Frank Drebin. In one scene, Nielsen appeared almost fully nude, and one critic referred to the scene as putting "the 'scary' in Scary Movie 4."[56]
Nielsen also hosted a series of instructional golf videos beginning with 1993's Bad Golf Made Easier. The videos were not serious, instead combining absurdist comedy with golf techniques. The series were popular enough to spawn two additional sequels, Bad Golf My Way (1994) and Stupid Little Golf Video (1997). Nielsen also co-wrote a fictional autobiography titled The Naked Truth. The book portrayed Nielsen as a popular actor with a long history of prestigious films.

Final years



220px-Leslie_nielsen_at_moravian_collegeEven in his eighties, Nielsen continued to have an active career. He performed serious roles on screen and stage (such as his one-man theatre show Darrow, in which he played Clarence Darrow), as well as providing voice-overs and on-camera appearances for commercials; cartoons like Zeroman where he had the leading role/voice; children's shows, such as Pumper Pups, which he narrated, in addition to comedic film roles. The sibling relationship with his elder brother, the Honourable Erik Nielsen, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, served as the premise of an HBO mockumentary entitled The Canadian Conspiracy in which Leslie Nielsen appeared, along with other prominent Canadian-born media personalities. He was a celebrity contestant on CBS's Gameshow Marathon, where he played The Price is Right, Let's Make a Deal, Beat the Clock, and Press Your Luck for charity.[22]
Beginning in February 2007, Nielsen began playing a small role as a doctor in the humorous yet educational television show Doctor*Ology. The show chronicles real-life medical techniques and technology, and airs on the Discovery Channel. In an interview, Nielsen admitted his admiration for the doctors on the show: "There are any number of things that you think about when you ponder if you hadn't been an actor, what would you be, and I've always said I'd like to be an astronaut or a doctor. I have such admiration for doctors. I just don't know how you go around to thank them enough for coming up with the world's most remarkable new discoveries."[36]
In 2007, Nielsen starred in the drama Music Within. In 2008, he portrayed a version of Uncle Ben for Superhero Movie, a spoof of superhero films. He then appeared in the 2008 parody films An American Carol, which David Zucker directed, produced, and co-wrote. He appeared in the 2009 parody Stan Helsing. Nielsen portrayed the Doctor in the Spanish horror comedy Spanish Movie,[57] a spoof comedy like Scary Movie, but making fun of popular Spanish films.[58]
Nielsen appeared in over 100 films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.[59][60]

Personal life

Nielsen married four times: Monica Boyer (1950–1956), Alisande Ullman (1958–1973), Brooks Oliver (1981–1983) and Barbaree Earl (2001–2010; his death).[61][62] Nielsen had two daughters from his second marriage, Maura and Thea Nielsen.[62]
Nielsen was a fan of golf, and he often played it in his free time.[63] Nielsen joked about his view on golf, "I have no goals or ambition. I do, however, wish to work enough to maintain whatever celebrity status I have so that they will continue to invite me to golf tournaments."[63] Nielsen's interest in the sport led him to star in several comedic instructional films.
Nielsen stated in several interviews that he had a few medical problems such as hearing impairment.[64] He was legally deaf and wore hearing aids for most of his life.[12] Because of this impairment, he publicly supported the Better Hearing Institute.[65]

Death

In November 2010, Nielsen was admitted to a Fort Lauderdale, Florida hospital for pneumonia. On 28 November, Doug Nielsen, Nielsen's nephew, announced to the CJOB radio station that Nielsen had died in his sleep, due to complications from pneumonia, around 5:30 pm EST, surrounded by family and friends.[66][67][68]

Achievements

Among his numerous awards, in 1995 Leslie Nielsen received UCLA's Jack Benny Award for his comedic roles.[41] In 1988, he became the 1,884th personality to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Blvd.[69] In 2001 he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.[70] The following year he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, although he was also a naturalized U.S. citizen.[2] With his American status, he maintained his Canadian heritage: "There's no way you can be a Canadian and think you can lose it ... Canadians are a goodly group. They are very aware of caring and helping."[2] On 19 May 2005, during the centennial gala of his birth province, Saskatchewan, Leslie Nielsen was introduced to HM Queen Elizabeth II.[71]
On 20 February 2002, Nielsen was named an honorary citizen of West Virginia and an "Ambassador of Mountain State Goodwill". Nielsen visited the state many times to speak and visit friends.[72] In 2003, in honor of Nielsen, Grant MacEwan College named its school of communications after him.[73] Also in 2003, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists awarded him the ACTRA Award of Excellence.[73]

Filmography

Films

Year Film Role Other notes
1956 Ransom! Charlie Telfer Film debut.
Forbidden Planet Commander John J. Adams
The Vagabond King Thibault
The Opposite Sex Steve Hilliard
1957 Hot Summer Night William Joel Partain
Tammy and the Bachelor Peter Brent
1958 The Sheepman Col. Stephen Bedford/Johnny Bledsoe
1964 See How They Run Elliot Green First television movie.
Night Train to Paris Alan Holiday
1965 Dark Intruder Brett Kingsford
Harlow Richard Manley
1966 The Plainsman Col. George Armstrong Custer
Beau Geste Lieutenant De Ruse
1967 Code Name: Heraclitus Fryer
The Reluctant Astronaut Major Fred Gifford
Gunfight in Abilene Grant Evers
Rosie! Cabot Shaw
1968 How to Steal the World General Maximilian Harmon The Man From UNC.L.E. film.
Counterpoint Victor Rice
Dayton's Devils Frank Dayton
Companions in Nightmare Dr. Neesden
1969 Trial Run Jason Harkness
Deadlock Lieutenant Sam Danforth
How to Commit Marriage Phil Fletcher
Change of Mind Sherrif Webb
1970 Night Slaves Sherrif Henshaw
The Aquarians Official
Hauser's Memory Joseph Slaughter
1971 Incident In San Francisco Lieutenant Brubaker
Four Rode Out Mr. Brown
They Call It Murder Frank Antrim
1972 The Poseidon Adventure Captain Harrison
1973 ...And Millions Die! Jack Gallagher
Snatched Bill Sutting
Amanda Fallon Mr. Cummings
The Return Of Charlie Chan Alexander Hadrachi
1975 Can Ellen Be Saved Arnold Lindsey
Threshold: The Blue Angels Experience Narrator
1976 Grand Jury John Williams
Project Kill Jonathan Trevor
Brinks: The Great Robbery Agent Norman Houston
1977 Sixth and Main John Doe
Day of the Animals Paul Jenson
Viva Knievel! Stanley Millard
The Kentucky Fried Movie Man in Feel-O-Rama Movie Uncredited cameo; Feel-O-Rama segment.
The Amsterdam Kill Riley Knight
1978 Little Mo Nelson Fisher
1979 Institute for Revenge Counselor Hollis Barnes
The Albertans Don MacIntosh
Riel Major Crozier
City on Fire Mayor William Dudley
1980 OHMS Governor
Airplane! Dr. Rumack First comedy role.
Prom Night Mr. Raymond Hammond
1981 A Choice of Two Unknown
1982 Twilight Theater Various Characters
Foxfire Light Reece Morgan
Wrong Is Right Mallory
Creepshow Richard Vickers Something To Tide You Over segment.
1983 Prime Time Unknown
The Night the Bridge Fell Down Paul Warren
Cave-In! Joseph 'Joe' Johnson
The Creature Wasn't Nice (Spaceship) Capt. Jamieson
1985 Murder Among Friends Unknown
Reckless Disregard Bob Franklin
Blade in Hong Kong Harry Ingersoll
Striker's Mountain Jim McKay
1986 The Patriot Admiral Frazer
Soul Man Mr. Dunbar
1987 Nightstick Thad Evans
Nuts Allen Green Final non-comedy role.
Home Is Where The Hart Is Sherrif Nashville Schwartz
1988 Dangerous Curves Greg Krevske
The Railway Dragon Narrator First animated film.
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Lt. Frank Drebin First starring role.
1990 Repossessed Father Jebedaiah Mayii
1991 All I Want for Christmas Santa Claus Family holiday film.
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear Lt. Frank Drebin
Chance of a Lifetime Lloyd Dixon
1993 Digger Arthur Evrensel
Surf Ninjas Colonel Chi
1994 S.P.Q.R. 2000 e 1/2 anni fa Lucio Cinico
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult Lt. Frank Drebin
1995 Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree Willowby's butler
Rent-a-Kid Harry Haber
Dracula: Dead and Loving It Count Dracula
1996 Spy Hard Dick Steele, Agent WD-40
1997 Mr. Magoo Mr. Magoo
1998 Safety Patrol Mr. Penn
Family Plan Harry Haber
Harvey Dr. Chumley
Wrongfully Accused Ryan Harrison
1999 Pirates 4D Captain Lucky 4D Cinema Show presented at various Busch Gardens amusement parks.
2000 Santa Who? Santa Claus
2001: A Space Travesty Marshal Richard 'Dick' Dix
2001 Camouflage Jack Potter
Kevin of the North (Chilly Dogs) Clive Thornton
2002 Men with Brooms Gordon Cutter
2003 Scary Movie 3 President Harris
Noƫl Noƫl English Narrator
2006 Scary Movie 4 President Harris
2007 Music Within Bill Austin
2008 Superhero Movie Uncle Albert
An American Carol Grampa / Himself
Slap Shot 3: The Junior League Mayor of Charlestown
2009 Spanish Movie Doctor
Stan Helsing Kay
2011 Stonerville Producer
The Waterman Movie Ready Espanosa Voice acting is complete; will be released posthumously.[74]

Television

Year Title Role Other Notes
1958–1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Lloyd Ashley & DA Rudolph Cox Two episodes
1959 The Swamp Fox Colonel Francis Marion
1960 Thriller Alan Patterson (lead role) Episode "The Twisted Image"
1961 The New Breed Lt. Price Adams Regular
1963 Channing Professor Paul Stafford Single episode
1963-1964 The Fugitive (TV series) Martin C. Rowland & Harold Cheyney Two episodes
1964 Your First Impression As himself Single episode
1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Steven Grainger Single episode
1964–1969 The Virginian Ben Stratton Five episodes
1965 Peyton Place Vincent and Kenneth Marham (twins) 19 episodes
1967 Bonanza Sheriff Paul Rowan One episode
1969 The Bold Ones: The Protectors Deputy Police Chief Sam Danforth Seven episodes
1969–1974 Hawaii Five-O Brent & Colonel Faraday Two episodes
1971–1975 Columbo Peter Hamilton & Geronimo Two episodes
1971 Bearcats! Col. Ted Donovan Single episode
1971 Night Gallery Col. Dennis Malloy Single episode "A Question of Fear"
1973 M*A*S*H Col. Buzz Brighton Episode "The Ringbanger"
1973–1974 The Streets of San Francisco Ofc. Joe Landers, Insp. John T. Connor, & Big Jake Wilson Three episodes
1974 Cannon Eric Strauss Single episode
1974 Kojak Michael Hagar Single episode "Loser Takes All"
1975 Kung Fu Vincent Corbino Four episodes
1975–1976 S.W.A.T. Larry Neal/Vince Richie Three episodes
1979 Backstairs at the White House Ike Hoover Three episodes
1980 The Littlest Hobo Mayor Chester Montgomery Episode "Romiet and Julio"
1982 Police Squad! Det. Frank Drebin
1984 Shaping Up Buddy Fox
1985–1986 Murder, She Wrote Captain Daniels & David Everett Two episodes
1988 Who's The Boss Max
1988 Day By Day Jack Harper One episode, nominated for an Emmy Award
1989 Saturday Night Live Himself Single episode
1992 The Golden Girls Lucas Hollingsworth Series finale
1994–1999 Due South Sgt. Buck Frobisher Four episodes
1994–1996, 2001–2002 Katie and Orbie Narrator
1995 Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree Mr. Willowby's Butler, Baxter Television Christmas special
2000 Santa Who? Santa Claus Television film
2001 Scrubs cross-dresser Uncredited
2002 Liocracy Terrence Brynne McKennie
2004 Zeroman Les Mutton/Zeroman
2007 Doctorology Himself, Host
Lipshitz Saves the World Lipshitz's mentor Pilot
Robson Arms Cado Vasco

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