It's a Little Dimmer Today

Leslie Nielsen has passed away.

I hadn't really thought about it very much, but I think his Commander Adams in Forbidden Planet is as much an influence on a certain, much more popular starship captain from a decade later as anything else from the science fiction of the previous eras.

Of course, later in life Nielsen turned into a lovable goof.

But he was always an entertainer. He shall be missed.

Edit: Mr. C. has closed his restaurant.

And also Irving Kershner, who directed The Empire Strikes Back and Never Shay Never Again, one of the rare non-Broccolli James Bond movies, has passed away.