Leslie Nielsen couldn’t resist one last joke.
His tombstone in the city’s historic Evergreen Cemetery reads “Let ‘er rip.”
Nielsen, the star of such comic movies as “Airplane!” and “Naked Gun,” had a low-key retirement in Fort Lauderdale before his death last fall at 84. Neilsen loved gags about gas and whoopee cushions and promised in a 1996 interview that the line would be his epitaph.
Flatulence jokes from movie stars is something new for Evergreen.
It’s better known as the final resting place of Fort Lauderdale founders, including Frank and Ivy Stranahan. Before Nielsen, its famous residents largely consisted of corrupt Sheriff Walter Clark and Hall of Fame professional wrestler Shinya Hashimoto.
Nielsen’s grave is located in the cemetery’s northern corner. A bench in his honor is under a nearby shade tree with a comment from him: “Sit down whenever you can.”
