Editing Leslie Nielsen (section)

==Early life==
Nielsen was born on February 11, 1926, in [[Regina, Saskatchewan]].<ref name="ComedyCloset">{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Bob|title=Worth the Rent|work=[[The Tampa Tribune]]|date=24 May 1996|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/tampatribune/access/38300832.html?dids=38300832:38300832&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+24%2C+1996&author=Bob+Ross&pub=Tampa+Tribune&desc=WORTH+THE+RENT&pqatl=google|format=Fee required|access-date=28 November 2010}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> His mother, Mabel Elizabeth (''{{née}}'' Davies), was an immigrant from [[Wales]], and his father, Ingvard Eversen Nielsen (1900–1975), was a [[Danish Canadians|Danish]]-born constable in the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]].<ref name=eofy>{{Cite book|last=Simpson|first=Kieran|title=Canadian Who's Who, Volume 15|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=1980|isbn=0-8020-4579-0}}</ref><ref name="CanadianWho">{{cite book|title=Canadian Who's Who 2003, Volume 38|author=Lumley, Elizabeth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aNuphN-Vh_oC&q=Ingvard%20and%20Maybelle%20Nielsen&pg=PA1013|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2003|isbn=0-8020-8865-1|page=1,103}}</ref><ref name="DanWal">{{cite news|title=Leslie Nielsen, the comic with the Danish roots: "Comedy is what endures"|work=Scandinavian Press|date=31 March 1997|volume=4|issue=1|id={{ProQuest|218390756}}}}</ref> Nielsen was born the second of two boys to both his parents. His elder brother, [[Erik Nielsen]] (1924–2008), was a long-time Canadian Member of Parliament, cabinet minister, and [[Deputy Prime Minister of Canada]] from 1984 to 1986.<ref>{{cite news|title=Erik Nielsen dies at B.C. at 84 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080905.wobitnielsen0905/BNStory/National/home |date=5 September 2008 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203013558/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article707221.ece |archive-date= 3 December 2010 |location=Toronto |url-status=dead }}</ref> He also has a half-brother, Gilbert Nielsen, from his father's other relationship.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-11-29|title=''The Naked Gun'' actor Leslie Nielsen dies at age 84|url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/mobile/the-naked-gun-actor-leslie-nielsen-dies-at-age-84-1.580341|access-date=2022-02-12|website=Montreal|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:HersholtBrotherswife.jpg|left|thumb|Nielsen's half-uncle [[Jean Hersholt]] (pictured here in the 1936 film ''[[His Brother's Wife]]'') inspired him to become an actor.]]

Nielsen's half-uncle [[Jean Hersholt]] was an actor known for his portrayal of [[Dr. Christian]] in a radio series of that title, and the subsequent television series and films.<ref name="nielsen1994"/><ref name=ote>{{Cite book|last=Nielsen|first=Leslie|author2=David Fisher |title=Leslie Nielsen the naked truth|publisher=Pocket Books|year=1994|page=289|isbn=0-671-79578-3}}</ref> In a 1994 ''[[The Boston Globe|Boston Globe]]'' article, he 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."<ref name="nielsen1994"/>

As a child, Nielsen and his family lived in [[Tulita|Fort Norman]] (now Tulita) in the [[Northwest Territories]], where his father was with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They moved to [[Edmonton]] in 1930.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.658158 cbc.ca]</ref><ref name="nielsen1994">{{cite news|last=Carr|first=Jay|title=If Leslie Nielsen has learned anything, it's how to play slapstick with a ... straight face|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61932233.html?dids=61932233:61932233&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+13%2C+1994&author=Jay+Carr%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=If+Leslie+Nielsen+has+learned+anything%2C+it%27s+how+to+play+slapstick+with+a.+.+.+straight+face&pqatl=google|format=Fee required|work=The Boston Globe|date=13 March 1994|access-date=1 December 2010|archive-date=24 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724235501/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61932233.html?dids=61932233:61932233&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+13%2C+1994&author=Jay+Carr%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=If+Leslie+Nielsen+has+learned+anything%2C+it%27s+how+to+play+slapstick+with+a.+.+.+straight+face&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="PlayingDefense">{{cite news|title=Playing Defense Funny Man Turns Serious with One-man Darrow Show|work=Chicago Tribune|date=30 January 2000|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/48598094.html?dids=48598094:48598094&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+30%2C+2000&author=Judy+Hevrdejs+Contributing%3A+Kaarin+Tisue%2C+Gary+Dretzka&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=PLAYING+DEFENSE+FUNNY+MAN+TURNS+SERIOUS+WITH+ONE-MAN+DARROW+SHOW&pqatl=google|format=Fee required|access-date=1 December 2010|archive-date=25 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725010133/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/48598094.html?dids=48598094:48598094&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+30%2C+2000&author=Judy+Hevrdejs+Contributing%3A+Kaarin+Tisue%2C+Gary+Dretzka&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=PLAYING+DEFENSE+FUNNY+MAN+TURNS+SERIOUS+WITH+ONE-MAN+DARROW+SHOW&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}</ref> His father was an abusive man who beat his wife and sons, and Leslie longed to escape. Following graduation from Victoria High School (later renamed [[Victoria School of the Arts]]) in [[Edmonton]], he enlisted in the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] at age 17 in 1943,<ref name="whitehorse">[https://www.whitehorsestar.com/News/we-always-knew-him-as-a-funny-guy 'We always knew him as a funny guy'.] ''[[Whitehorse Star]]''. Retrieved June 21, 2021.</ref><ref name="complex">[https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2010/11/r-i-p-leslie-nielsen-5-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-naked-gun-actor R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen: 5 Things You Didn't Know About The "Naked Gun" Actor.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130161602/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2010/11/r-i-p-leslie-nielsen-5-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-naked-gun-actor|date=January 30, 2023}} [[Complex Networks]]. Retrieved June 21, 2021.</ref> though he was legally deaf (he wore hearing aids most of his life).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://greencardguide.info/2010/12/01/naked-gun-airplane-actor-leslie-nielsen-dies|title=Biodata about Nielsen's abusive father|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817120528/http://greencardguide.info/2010/12/01/naked-gun-airplane-actor-leslie-nielsen-dies/|archive-date=17 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="Shirley">{{cite news|agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Leslie Nielsen, RIP. "And don't call me Shirley" |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=29 November 2010 |url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/people/leslie-nielsen-rip-and-dont-ca.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201025032/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/people/leslie-nielsen-rip-and-dont-ca.html |archive-date= 1 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There he trained as an [[Air gunner|aerial gunner]] during [[World War II]].<ref name="NoJokeDrama">{{cite news|agency=[[Reuters]]|title=No Joke! Nielsen in Drama|work=[[Rocky Mountain News]]|date=14 June 1996|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67786375.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102133735/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67786375.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2012|url-access=registration |access-date=1 December 2010}}</ref> Upon the war's end, he was discharged and worked briefly as a disc jockey<ref name="BBCobit">[https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11862150 Obituary: Leslie Nielsen] [[BBC]]. Retrieved June 21, 2021.</ref><ref name="thehindu">[https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/lsquoNaked-Gunrsquo-lsquoAirplanersquo-actor-Leslie-Nielsen-dies/article15720737.ece 'Naked Gun,' 'Airplane' actor Leslie Nielsen dies.] ''[[The Hindu]]''. Retrieved June 21, 2021.</ref> at a Calgary, Alberta, radio station, before enrolling at the [[Lorne Greene]] Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto.<ref name="nielsen1994"/><ref name="NoSeriouslyNobody">{{cite news|last=Churchill|first=Bonnie|title=Leslie Nielsen Doesn't Take Himself Seriously, Nor Does Anyone Else|work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|date=20 December 1997|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB050AC86F77B7D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|format=Fee required|access-date=1 December 2010}}</ref> 

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'."<ref name="nielsen1994"/> 

He moved to New York City for his scholarship,<ref name="ComedyCloset"/> studying theatre and music at the Neighborhood Playhouse, while performing in [[summer stock theatre]].<ref>{{cite news|title=These New Faces Will Go Places in 1957!|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|author=Hopper, Hedda|date=6 January 1957|page=H16}}</ref> Afterward, he attended the [[Actors Studio]],<ref name="starsatwar">{{cite book|title=International Stars at War|first1=James E. Jr.|last1=Wise|author1-link=James E. Wise Jr.|first2=Scott|last2=Baron|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=2002|isbn=1-55750-965-4|page=221}}</ref> until his first television appearance in 1950 on an episode of ''[[Westinghouse Studio One|Studio One]]'', alongside [[Charlton Heston]],<ref name="ShyAct">{{cite news|last=Arnold |first=William |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/archives/1988/8802020770.asp |title=Shy actor loves his life as a comic |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |date=6 December 1988 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20101201061914/http://www.seattlepi.com/archives/1988/8802020770.asp |archive-date= 1 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> for which he was paid $75 ({{Inflation|US|75|1950|r=-1|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="nielsen1994"/>