โHey! Itโs Enrico Pallazzo!โ
Four words. Three seconds. Too many laughs to count.
Thatโs the line from โThe Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!โ uttered toward the end of the classic 1988 movie, after Leslie Nielsenโs bumbling Lt. Frank Drebin thwarted an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II at a California Angels baseball game.
The line is said by a fan in the stands who recognizes Drebin as the man who had sung the national anthem after Drebin knocked out the fictional international opera singer Pallazzo and proceeded to butcher the song while pretending to be him.
The man who said, โHey! Itโs Enrico Pallazzo!โ was played by Mark Holton, who remains amazed at the love the filmโs fans have for the remark.
โThereโve been articles written on that line and what it meant to the movie, and itโs just insane, because itโs one line,โ he tells TODAY.com in a phone interview.
โI mean, I was in there half a day โ a half a day. I said my one line. โOK, I got my day rate. Iโm going to eat dinner tomorrow.โ And that was it. And the next thing I know, itโs still living.โ
Itโs an absurd moment in a farcical film filled with absurd moments, which is fitting since it was written by David Zucker, his brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, a trio known as ZAZ who had previously hit pay dirt with the comedy classic โAirplane!โ
To someone who may not be familiar with the movie, the description of the Enrico Pallazzo line sounds ludicrous, but that quote has left quite an impression on moviegoers. Itโs hilarious, memorable and endlessly satisfying to say.
Holton was thrilled to get the opportunity to work with ZAZ, whom he had admired for their work on โPolice Squad!,โ the short-lived TV series that inspired the โNaked Gunโ movie. He says his line dovetailed perfectly into the rest of the film.
โWhen I actually saw the scene and everything that was going on in the scene and how that fit into it, I went, โOK, now I get it,โโ he says.
The scene helped cement Holtonโs status as a 1980s film icon after he scored parts as Francis in โPee-weeโs Big Adventureโ and Chubby in โTeen Wolf.โ He says he didnโt work with any of the movieโs stars during his scene in โThe Naked Gun,โ but got to meet Priscilla Presley at a convention about a year ago.
โI donโt know if she remembered me from the film or whatever, but we had a little talk and I got a pic with her,โ he says.
Holton says he also met Nielsen before his death, calling him โone of those guys I would love to have as a neighbor.โ
Nielsen played Drebin in three โNaked Gunโ movies, and now Liam Neeson steps in as the lead character in the upcoming โNaked Gunโ reboot, opening Aug. 1. Holton hopes for the best for everyone affiliated with it, but doesnโt intend to see it.
โI might watch part of it, but I donโt have a burning desire to see what theyโve done with it,โ he says. โThereโs too much of that in Hollywood, as far as Iโm concerned. I wish them the best of luck.โ
There are parallels between Nielsen โ who was in โAirplane!โ โ and Neeson, with both of them enjoying long careers as dramatic actors before turning to comedy. Holton points to Neesonโs previous body of work in films like โExcaliburโ and โTaken,โ noting that heโs โa good actor,โ which should serve him well as he takes the reins of a revived beloved franchise.
โIf he executes the role properly, heโll do well,โ he says.
โIโm certainly rooting for him,โ he adds.
