This past holiday weekend saw two Hollywood greats leave us for good. Known primarily for his fantastic deadpan humor, Leslie Nielsen entertained us for decades in iconic comedies like Airplane! and The Naked Gun series,
not to mention the myriad of other television shows (from The Fugitive to Wagon Train to Hawaii Five-O) and movies (Spy Hard, Scary Movie 3, Superhero Movie) he's taken on in a career that first began all the way back in 1950. Nielsen passed away in a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale Florida after experiencing complications with pneumonia. He was 84.
In other sad news, Irvin Kershner, best known for directing The Empire Strikes Back, has passed away at the age of 87. The filmmaker passed away at his home this past weekend after struggling with a long illness. Kershner began directing back in 1958 with Stakeout on Dope Street before moving on to work on a number of television shows like The Rebel and Naked City.
In 1980 Kershner landed a huge break after George Lucas asked him to helm the second film in his Star Wars series, The Empire Strikes Back, which would later go down as arguably the best Star Wars film out of the six. Kershner worked on several films after that – with the most notable being the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again – and he retired from filmmaking in 1993.
In 1980 Kershner landed a huge break after George Lucas asked him to helm the second film in his Star Wars series, The Empire Strikes Back, which would later go down as arguably the best Star Wars film out of the six. Kershner worked on several films after that – with the most notable being the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again – and he retired from filmmaking in 1993.Both men left an undeniable mark on film history, and they will be missed.
