Don't call him Shirley, but feel free to refer to him as Lt. Frank Drebin.
Comedy star Leslie Nielsen was best known for his later-career spoofs "Naked Gun" and "Airplane!" and a fourth "Naked Gun" installment was reportedly in the works when he died on Sunday at the age of 84.
In an interview with the BBC in May, Nielsen said that he has "heard about" plans to bring back the franchise but was "not involved in it."
The "Naked Gun" film franchise, which debuted in 1988 with "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!," parodied "Police Squad!," a short-lived ABC series starring Nielsen that aired for just six episodes in 1982 and riffed off 1950s police dramas like "M Squad," starring Lee Marvin.
"Naked Gun 4: Rhythm of Evil," the follow up to 1994's "Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult," would have been the first addition to the franchise in 16 years.
Prior to scoring the role of Lt. Frank Drebin, Nielsen made a name for himself as a dramatic TV actor in the 1950s. He soon moved onto the big screen starring in such fare as the 1972 disaster epic "Poseidon Adventure."
But in 1980 – at the age of 54 -- the Canadian actor experienced a career resurgence as Dr. Alan Rumack in the spoof "Airplane!," a parody of the 1957 thriller "Zero Hour!" about a flight that teeters on disaster when its passengers succumb to food poisoning.
The film had Nielsen delivering the most famous line of his career, "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley" when another character asks him, "Surely you can't be serious?"
The line landed Nielsen the #79 spot on the American Film Institute's list of Top 100 movie quotes.
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