Beloved Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen has died at 84 from complications due to pneumonia, according to various news reports.

Nielsen, who was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, but was raised in the Northwest Territories, might be best known for his spoof comedies that started with “Airplane” in 1980 and continued with “The Naked Gun” series as well as other oddball comedies. These earned him the nickname “the Olivier of Spoof,” as Roger Ebert once pegged him.

Nielsen’s signature timing and double entendres were unforgettable and he’ll be sorely missed. According to Wikipedia, work had begun on a fourth installment of “The Naked Gun,” which was supposed to be released in 2012. Nielsen told the BBC in May that he’s “heard about” plans for the fourth film in the franchise but that he was “not involved in it.”

Nielsen began acting in the 1950s and has more dramatic roles in “Forbidden Planet” and “The Poseidon Adventure” before turning to comedy.

He remained active until very recently, performing on stage and voicing animated characters.

“I’m afraid if I don’t keep moving, they’re going to catch me … I am 81 years old and I want to see what’s around the corner, and I don’t see any reason in the world not to keep working,” Nielsen told the Vancouver Sun in 2007 (according to Wikipedia). “But I am starting to value my down time a great deal because I am realizing there might be other things to do that I am overlooking.”

Here are a couple of our favorite Nielsen moments:

If the polar ice caps weren’t melting before, they certainly are now.

Up Here magazine has raised the stakes on the climate change debate, unleashing a swimsuit edition this week to make the point that if something isn’t done about global warming soon you might as well trade your parka for a two-piece.

The goal was draw attention to the discussion and, while a handful of readers might be distracted by the 10 scantily clad ladies photographed in arctic landscapes, it appears the mission has been accomplished.

“When you want to get attention in a room full of people talking, you tend to yell,” writes Tim Querengesser on Up Here’s website. “So, when we decided to dedicate an entire issue to climate change in the North, one of the most over-trammeled media narratives in history, we knew we’d have to yell to be heard above the already deafening howl.”

“We are always, as communicators, striving to come up with some new way to grab people,” Up Here editor Aaron Spitzer told CBC.ca.

According to the CBC, the Yellowknife-based magazine has covered northern culture, lifestyle, arts and travel for 26 years, and was magazine of the year at the National Magazine Awards in June.

Charlotte Overvold, one of the models who took part in the shoot, told the CBC she was drawn to the project because of its important message.

“For me personally, animals, and the hunting and stuff like that, it’s, like, greatly affected. So I felt very strong in being a part of this,” she said.

Special thanks to Spitzer for providing the magazine cover you can see below. To see more, check out the video here:

Photo: Up Here