[Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.] Leslie Nielsen, the comic actor best known for his roles in Airplane! and The Naked Gun, who passed away last week, saved his funniest jokes for friends and mourners at his funeral today.
Halfway through the funeral service, as the padre was delivering a tearful obsequies to the fun-loving Canadian prankster, the assembled congregation packing out the Ft Lauderdale Church heard strange noises emanating from the actor's coffin.
"There was an eerie 'woooo-ing' sound coming from Leslie's casket" said one mourner, "The padre I think ignored it at first, but when the loud farting started coming from the box he stopped and appeared to pee his cassock."
Initially there was concern and panic amongst the congregation, but this tension was quickly defused when one mourner, a close colleague of Mr Nielsen, began laughing incontrollably - followed by the whole congregation who spontaneously burst into fits of hysterical giggles and then applause - literally rolling in the aisles.
But Leslie saved his biggest laugh for last. After the actor's coffin was lowered into the ground and as the scattering of earth over the lid began, loud knocking began coming from the box, followed by muffled shouts, in the unmistakeable voice of Nielsen's most famous character, 'Lt. Frank Drebben', screaming "For Chrissake I'm not dead! let me out!".
The entire ensemble, including the now composure-restored padre, fell into gales of laughter, tears streaming down their eyes.
After a service to remember, a spokesman for the funeral arrangers explained, " Years ago, Mr. Nielsen had arranged for us to place a 'timed flatulence device' into his coffin between his legs - he only wished that he 'could be there to see it'." laughed the funeral arranger.
When asked where the second timed device had been placed in the actor's casket, to activate the lid-knocking and actor's voice at the burial interment, a puzzled-looking undertaker replied, "What second device?".