Leslie Nielsen Dies

Legendary Hollywood funnyman and known prankster Leslie Nielsen has died from complications from pneumonia, his rep has confirmed for the media. Nielsen was 84 and passed surrounded by his family.

People magazine reports that a spokesperson for the family has confirmed that the actor had been battling pneumonia for the past two weeks but, in recent days, the complications had gotten too severe.

Nielsen died in his sleep, it is being said, but not before he got the chance to say goodbye to all his loved ones, who were all there by his bedside.

“His agent, John. S. Kelly, confirmed that the actor died Sunday near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., surrounded by his ‘lovely wife and friends’ at 5:34 p.m. ET, due to complications of pneumonia,” People reports.

“Nielsen had been hospitalized for nearly two weeks as a result from pneumonia, his agent said,” notes the same publication.

Doug Nielsen, the actor’s nephew, has confirmed the sad news to Canadian media, saying, “Just in this last 48 hours, the infection has gotten too much. He just fell asleep and passed away.”

“Nielsen is survived by his fourth wife, Barbaree Lee Neilsen, and two daughters, Maura Nielsen Kaplan and Thea Nielsen Disney, both of whom appeared alongside their father in the comedies, Dracula: Dead and Loving It and Wrongfully Accused,” People further says.

Since his acting career spanned more than 6 decades and given that he’d approached as many genres as possible through it, but, most importantly, because he’d been such a wonderful man, fellow stars are already paying their respects on Twitter.

Stars like Brooke Burke, “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest, movie critic Roger Ebert, Kevin Pollak and rocker Slash have all taken to the social network to express their sadness at the passing of such a wonderful actor and gorgeous human being.

Comedians Patton Oswalt, Russell Brand and David Wain also tweeted their condolences, bemoaning the death of a genuinely talented fellow actor.