Leslie Nielsen (1926–2010)

Well, why wouldn't I expect something completely different than what I thought I would get from Leslie Nielsen? I picked this up at a USB and thought I was getting a book about the life of the interesting actor/comedian. As I dove into the text, I soon found that Mr. Nielsen's autobiographical sketch was more comedy sketch than accurate and in depth look of his life's journeys. So, after looking at the cover again and realizing that Nielsen "got me", I accepted that I was dealing with the literary form of "bait-and-switch" and settled into to a hilarious book about Nielsen "life" in movies and TV.

The book is a quick read, and while the outer shell of it is true, like an M&M, it's what's inside the shell that makes it so much fun. Nielsen starts the reader's journey from his early days in Canada, leads us through his movies from the 50's and 60's, exposes us to his involvement in the Golden Age of TV, and ends with the tomfoolery of the Naked Gun series.

I found myself laughing out loud at times and often checking the facts at IMBd to see if what Nielsen wrote was accurate at all. (Spoiler alert: most of it wasn't). Readers will get a chance to meet Nielsen's four wives, learn of his many affairs with Hollywood starlets, get an inside look of his time as a member of Sinatra's Rat Pack, and experience his thrill of winning the Oscar for Best Actor (over DeNiro, Hoffman, et al) no less.

The slapstick humor is non stop. It gets a little tedious at time because the jokes are overused at times, but the book is never boring. Those who loved Nielsen's characters in Airplane, the Naked Gun series, and Police Squad will really enjoy his made-up autobiography!… (meer)