The Unexpected Truth About Leslie Nielsen's Time Filming The Naked Gun

By the late 1980s, Leslie Nielsen had enjoyed decades of work as a successful and in-demand actor, starring in classics including 1956's "Forbidden Planet" and 1972's "The Poseidon Adventure." However, he was about to take a role that would change his career forever and establish him as one of the world's favorite comedy performers. That was the part of Lieutenant Frank Drebin, the star of the riotous 1988 police drama spoof "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" 

Employing a particular brand of absurdist humor that suited Nielsen perfectly, "The Naked Gun" was a roaring success with comedy fans, and today, it's considered a classic. The movie established a successful franchise that had two further installments in the '90s: 1991's "The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear" and 1994's "Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult." But while a large part of the appeal of "The Naked Gun" was Nielsen's note-perfect deadpan performance style, the truth is that the comedy itself — the gags — were entirely scripted, with the filmmakers behind it recalling that Nielsen was happy to let the material speak for itself.

"The Naked Gun" was the creation of comedy filmmakers David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (or "ZAZ"), who had previously worked with Nielsen on the hit movie "Airplane!" and the 6-part TV show "Police Squad!" Released in 1980, "Airplane!" was a game changer for Nielsen. Before that, he had been cast almost entirely in serious roles. For ZAZ, hiring serious actors like Nielsen to bring their deeply silly script to life was essential. "These were people who up to that time had never done comedy," David Zucker explained in "The Directors: Take One." "We thought they were much funnier than the comedians of the time were."

The trick, according to the filmmakers, was for the actors to deliver their performances not as if they were in a comedy, but rather a true disaster movie like those "Airplane!" sought to satirize. Nielsen, who was desperate to show his ability in a comedic role, jumped at the role. "Take whatever they offer," Nielsen reportedly told his agent (per The Telegraph). "I'd pay them to do this." He became a natural vessel for ZAZ's brand of comedy. While "Airplane!" was an immediate hit, "Police Squad!" failed to find an audience and was canceled. Nevertheless, the team behind it decided to retool it as a feature film, retailing Nielsen as the star of what became "The Naked Gun."

Ad-libbing is a natural part of creating comedy, even in the biggest Hollywood movies. The line "You're gonna need a bigger boat!" in Steven Spielberg's classic "Jaws" is perhaps the best known example, while much of the 2004 ensemble comedy "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" was improvised by its veteran comedy actors. It is a surprising revelation, then, that the gag-filled "Naked Gun" franchise didn't contain one iota of improvisation, with Leslie Nielsen following the script down to the letter as the directors requested. 

As David Zuker told Little White Lies: "There was no improvising on set. [Nielsen] knew where the joke was and knew better than to mess with the style, try to wink or be funny. He absolutely trusted me and never tried to gild the lily ... When Leslie died, they quoted dozens and dozens of great lines and they were all written by [screenwriter] Pat Proft." The joke on Nielsen's gravestone, however, was seemingly his own invention.

Fans will be relieved to learn that while Nielsen didn't contribute to the scripts of the comedies he so often enlivened with his presence, he was as funny as they come off-camera. "In my career as a television interviewer, Nielsen was up there with William Shatner as the funniest man I ever met," claimed Australian writer and broadcaster Clive James, who recalled having a finger-gun shooting match with the star as they drove through London in a pair of limos (per The Guardian). He was also a prankster on-set: While filming "Airplane!", he was known to surprise his fellow actors and crew members with a fart machine.