Leslie Nielsen, the Canadian-born actor who in middle age tossed aside three decades of credibility in dramatic and romantic roles to make a new, far more successful career as a comic actor in films like “Airplane!” and the “Naked Gun” series, died on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 84.
The cause was complications from pneumonia, said his agent, John S. Kelly.
Mr. Nielsen, a tall man with a matinee-idol profile, was often cast as an earnest hero at the beginning of his film career, in the 1950s.
His best-known roles included the stalwart spaceship captain in the science fiction classic “Forbidden Planet” (1956), the wealthy, available Southern aristocrat in “Tammy and the Bachelor” (1957) and an ocean liner captain faced with disaster in “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972).
In the 1960s and ‘70s, as his hair turned white and he became an even more distinguished figure, Mr. Nielsen played serious military men, government leaders and even a mob boss, appearing in crime dramas, westerns and the occasional horror movie.
in 2008 
, a Canadian-born US actor, has died at the age of 84. Nielsen appeared in over 100 films in which he played several different roles ranging from romance and drama to comedy. The cause of death was announced as . His death was announced by his agent, John S. Kelly. Nielsen was in  being treated for the illness at the time of his death.

Born February 11, 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Nielsen started his film career in the 1950s. He starred in the science fiction film  in 1956 and went to on gain several other roles including the captain in  in 1972. One of his biggest appearances was in the 1980s disaster-parody . After that appearance he gained more of a reputation as a comic actor.

One of his most notable roles came in 1988 when he played Lt. Frank Drebin in . He also appeared in the  in 1991 and  in 1994.

Nielsen was the younger brother of , who was deputy prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1986. Erik died in 2008. Leslie Nielsen is survived by his fourth wife Barbaree Earl, and his two daughters from his second marriage, Maura Nielsen Kaplan and Thea Nielsen Disney.