PANKOV

ALMATY, Feb 11

(THE GLOBE)

RYAN HARRISON (Leslie Nielsen) �Women and me are like fire and water, wet and flammable.�

These are words that describe the plight of one of the world�s greatest violinists, Ryan Harrison, the �Lord of the Violin.� LESLIE NIELSEN is Leslie Nielsen in this story of romance, betrayal, escape and assassination. A story based on actual events from other actual movies! �Wrongfully Accused� brings us a Leslie Nielsen who is part Harrison Ford, part Humphrey Bogart, part Tom Cruise, part Isaac Stern and a bit Jimi Hendrix. A man of sophistication and musical artistry who is turned into a man on the run. A man �WRONGFULLY ACCUSED� (that�s where the film got its name).

Nielsen names his own biggest challenge in making �Wrongfully Accused�: �It is,� he says, �bow legs. Of course, that�s a challenge I�ve faced all of my life, but everything I do I think that maybe this time I�m going to find a way to straighten my bow legs. It never works out. That�s really the main challenge.�

Leslie Nielsen is a veteran of more than 60 motion pictures and 1,500 television appearances. Building his early film career on the portrayal of stern, often humorless types (including the space ship commander in the sci-fi classic �Forbidden Planet� and the captain of the ill-fated cruise ship in �The Poseidon Adventure�), Nielsen turned his image inside out with his performance as the loopy doctor in Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker�s �Airplane� in 1980. Helping to foster a new genre in modern comedy, Nielsen continued to work with the ZAZ team on the series �Police Squad!� as police Lt. Frank Drebin, a role he re-created in the features �The Naked Gun,� �Naked Gun 2 1/2� and in �Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.�

�Working with the Zuckers and Jim Abrahams is the luckiest thing that ever happened to me,� says the actor. �I watched reruns of the TV shows I�d done in the past and couldn�t help but laugh at the incredible gravity and seriousness; the characters suddenly became funny to me, including my own.�

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, the son of a Canadian Mounted Policeman, Nielsen started his show business career by working as an engineer and disc jockey in a Calgary radio station. His subsequent studies at Lorne Green�s Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto won the aspiring actor a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Nielsen also studied at the Actor�s Studio and learned dancing with Martha Graham.

His television career started in 1950 in a �Studio One� appearance with Charlton Heston; he went on to act in 46 live programs that year. Brought to Hollywood by Paramount in 1954 to star in �The Vagabond King,� Nielsen soon starred in a number of films while under contract to MGM. He is still remembered for his role as the bachelor opposite Debbie Reynolds in the hugely successful �Tammy and the Bachelor.�

Throughout the sixties and seventies, Nielsen appeared regularly in such television action series as �The Fugitive,� �Wagon Train,� �Cannon,� �Kojak,� �S.W.A.T.� and �Vegas.� He also starred in seven series of his own, including �The New Breed,� �Peyton Place,� �The Protectors,� �Bracken�s World� and as Ike Hoover in the mini-series �Backstairs at the White House.� In more recent years, Nielsen has guest- starred on many comedy series such as �Who�s The Boss,� �The Golden Girls,� �Herman�s Head� and �Due South.�

Nielsen�s other film credits include �Prom Night,� George Romero�s �Creepshow,� �Nuts� with Barbra Streisand, the exorcism spoof �Repossessed,� the Mel Brooks comedy �Dracula, Dead and Loving It,� �Spy Hard,� �Family Plan� and �Mr. Magoo.� His comedic abilities were honored in 1995 when Nielsen was given UCLA�s Jack Benny Award, following in the footsteps of such comedy greats as Johnny Carson, Lili Tomlin, Steve Martin, George Burns, Whoopi Goldberg and Carol Burnett.

12/02/1918 - All theatres in New York City were shut down on this day in an effort to conserve coal. With some of the movies made today, maybe theatres ought to just shut down a day. They�d conserve electricity...

12/02/1924 - Calvin Coolidge, known by many as the �silent President�, made the first presidential political speech on radio. The speech originated from New York City and was broadcast on five radio stations. An audience estimated to be some five-million people listened in to hear the President speak.

13/02/1965 - Sixteen-year-old Peggy Fleming won the ladies senior figure skating title at Lake Placid, NY. Fleming would go on to win Olympic gold and, as a professional skater, signed a long-term, $500,000 contract for several commercial endorsements that lasted for years. She appeared in TV specials and performed with the Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice and was elected to the International Women�s Sports Hall of Fame and the Olympic Hall of Fame.

14/02/1912 - The first diesel engine submarine was commissioned in Groton, CT.

15/02/1965 - Canada displayed its new red and white Maple Leaf flag, which replaced the old Red Ensign standard.

15/02/1978 - Boxer, Leon Spinks, defeated Muhammad Ali this night to win the universally recognized heavyweight boxing crown. Spinks won a split decision over Ali, who had held the title for seven years. The 24-year-old challenger had only seven professional fights to his credit. The title bout was held in the Pavilion at Caesar�s Palace in Las Vegas. Importantly, Spinks won the bout without benefit of his two front teeth. Upon winning against the former champ, Spinks mumbled, �Thith ith weally a gweath momenth for me. Yeth, thir.�