VIDEO: In Memoriam – Leslie Nielsen’s 1959 screen test for BEN-HUR

Hollywood lost one of its most recognizable and legendary actors when Leslie Nielsen passed away yesterday at the age of 84.

While Nielsen will be most remembered for his unforgettable spoof roles in the Airplane and Naked Gun franchises he also took his turn in a fair share of straight dramatic roles.  One of the very best early examples of Nielsen’s serious acting chops is the following screen test for the 1959 version of BEN-HUR.  In the clip Nielsen acts along side Cesare Danova as they take their turns as Messala and Judah respectively.

While the focus is primarily on Danova the viewer is provided a fine and lengthy example of Leslie Nielsen working to land a major motion picture role.  This is a real YouTube gem:

The part where Nielsen and Danova take turns practicing their lion and jackal arrow tossing skills nearly tripped into random Airplane tomfoolery. 

Nielsen’s turn as Lieutenant Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun movies and his timeless portrayal of Dr. Rumack on 1980’s Airplane will live on for as long as someone wants a great slapstick laugh.  But it’s also great to remember Nielsen’s contribution outside of his tongue-in-cheek persona that he was so masterful at. 

Leslie Nielsen is survived by two daughters, he was Canadian by birth and was the son of a Canadian Royal Policeman who was documented as being abusive to Leslie and his siblings.  Nielsen got away from his father by joining the Royal Canadian Air Force despite being nearly deaf.  He wore hearing aids for the majority of his life.

Mr. Nielsen is surely going to be missed.  Oh yeah, and don’t call him Shirley.