At age 17, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained as an aerial gunner.
Attended the Chiller Theater Expo in Parsippany, New Jersey along with actress Jamie Luner of "Profiler" (1996), John Schneider, Angie Dickinson, Brian O'Halloran, Danny Woodburn, David Hedison, Erik Estrada, Audra Lynn and Barry Williams on October 24th, 2008.
Attended Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton, Alberta.
Avid motorcylist.
Became a naturalized U.S. citizen on November 16th, 1958.
Born at 5:00 am MST.
Cousin of Jean Hersholt Jr. and Allan Hersholt.
Film critic Roger Ebert once called him "the Laurence Olivier of spoofs".
Has two daughters: Maura Nielsen Kaplan and Thea Nielsen Disney.
He has a half brother named Gilbert Nielsen who lives in Hobbs, New Mexico.
He is half-Danish and half-Welsh.
He was awarded an O.C. (Officer of the Order of Canada) on October 10, 2002 for his services to entertainment.
His father was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer for Northwest Territory and Saskatchewan.
His grandfather on father's side was Danish.
In the Fall of 2003, the Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada opened the Leslie Nielsen School of Communications, with the actor on hand for the ceremony.
Lived in Phoenix, Arizona.
Nephew of the late actors Jean Hersholt and Via Hersholt.
Older brother was a high-ranking Canadian politician. Eric Nielsen was the Government Leader of the Yukon Territory before becoming a Member of Parliment and the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. He died from a massive heart attack on September 4, 2008 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
Tested for the role of "Messala" in Ben-Hur (1959).
Was considered for the role of Jack Torrance in The Shining (1980).