"I must kill... the Queen."
It’s one of the most absurd, monotone, and oddly terrifying lines in comedy history. When Reggie Jackson—the legendary "Mr. October"—stepped onto the set of The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! in 1988, he wasn't there to hit home runs. He was there to commit regicide. Or at least, a hypnotized version of him was.
Honestly, looking back at it now, it's wild how well this bit still works. We've seen a thousand celebrity cameos in movies, but the Naked Gun Reggie Jackson appearance hits different because it treats a Hall of Fame athlete like a Manchurian Candidate. It’s peak ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker) humor.
Why the Reggie Jackson Cameo is Pure Comedy Gold
If you’ve watched the movie, you know the setup. Ricardo Montalbán’s villainous Vincent Ludwig has a device that can turn anyone into a mindless assassin with a simple beeper signal. He picks a baseball player. Specifically, he picks an Angels outfielder.
The brilliance of casting Reggie Jackson wasn't just his fame; it was his stature. In 1988, Reggie was a titan. He had five World Series rings and a personality that filled up entire stadiums. Seeing a guy who usually exudes "alpha energy" suddenly turn into a glassy-eyed robot muttering about killing Queen Elizabeth II is inherently hilarious.
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The Breakdown of the Scene
The scene takes place during a game between the California Angels and the Seattle Mariners. While Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin is busy butchering the "Star-Spangled Banner" as Enrico Pallazzo and later terrorizing the players as a rogue umpire, the real tension is building in the dugout.
When the signal is sent, Reggie doesn't just walk; he marches. He retrieves a hidden pistol from under second base. The contrast between the chaotic, slapstick brawl happening around him and his laser-focused, robotic trek toward the Royal Box is what makes the timing so perfect.
The Weird Logic of the Baseball Game
The movie is famous for its "ignore the logic" approach to filming. If you’re a baseball nerd, you've probably noticed a few things that don't add up.
- The Stadium Swap: The game is supposed to be at Anaheim (home of the Angels), but it was actually filmed at Dodger Stadium. The production even used a stock shot of Wrigley Field at one point because they didn't have the right angle of the LA park.
- The Uniforms: Reggie had actually played his final season with the Oakland A's in 1987, but he put the Angels jersey back on for this shoot. It felt right. To fans, he was still the face of the sport.
- The Brawl: The Dodgers actually refused to let their name be used in the movie because they didn't like the idea of an on-field brawl. They rented the stadium but stayed anonymous.
Reggie spent about four days on set for what ended up being just a few minutes of screen time. He's gone on record saying he loved every second of it, especially working with Leslie Nielsen. Apparently, Nielsen was exactly who you'd hope he was—constantly playing with his "fart machine" and keeping the vibe light even during the long night shoots.
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What Reggie Jackson Actually Thought of "The Queen"
There’s a funny bit of real-world crossover here. The "Queen" in the movie was played by Jeannette Charles, a famous lookalike who made a career out of playing the monarch. Reggie once mentioned in an interview with MLB.com that she looked so much like the real Elizabeth II that it felt a bit "wrong" to say the line to her face.
But here’s the kicker: in 1991, just a few years after the movie came out, the real Queen Elizabeth II actually attended a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Oakland A's.
Reggie was there. He was coaching for the A's at the time. He actually got to meet her. You have to wonder if, for a split second, he had the urge to lean in and whisper, "I must kill the Queen," just to see what would happen. Luckily for international relations, he kept it professional.
Why it Still Ranks as a Top Cameo
Most athlete cameos are stiff. You've seen them—the player stands there, says a line with the charisma of a damp paper towel, and everyone claps because they're famous.
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Reggie Jackson didn't do that. He leaned into the weirdness. He played the "sleeper agent" role with total commitment. He wasn't playing "Reggie Jackson, Baseball Star." He was playing "Reggie Jackson, Brainwashed Weapon of Destruction."
It’s the same reason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar works in Airplane!. When you take a serious icon and put them in a completely nonsensical situation without them "winking" at the camera, the comedy lands ten times harder.
Fun Facts You Might Have Missed
- The "Innocence" Tweet: When Queen Elizabeth II passed away in 2022, Reggie Jackson actually tweeted out a joke about the movie. He posted, "Now we all know I was innocent! Amen! RIP Queen E!" It went viral because it reminded everyone of just how deep that movie is buried in our collective pop culture brain.
- The Other Players: Reggie wasn't the only pro there. Jay Johnstone (who played for the Angels, Dodgers, and Phillies) was also in the scene.
- The Umpire Crew: The guys arguing with Drebin weren't just actors. They included real MLB umpires like Joe West and Doug Harvey. It added a layer of "realism" to a movie that featured a man being flattened by a steamroller.
The Actionable Takeaway for Movie Buffs
If you haven't revisited The Naked Gun lately, you're missing out on the tightest 85 minutes of comedy ever written. Seriously. Most modern comedies feel bloated at two hours. This thing is a gatling gun of gags.
If you want to appreciate the Naked Gun Reggie Jackson scene to the fullest, here’s how to do it:
- Watch the Umpire Mechanics: Pay attention to how Leslie Nielsen mimics the real umpires in the background. The contrast between their professional signals and his "moonwalk" strike call is brilliant.
- Look at the Crowd: The fans in the background weren't all extras. A lot of them were just locals who showed up for a "free game" atmosphere, which gives the stadium scenes a genuine energy you can't fake on a soundstage.
- Listen to the Commentary: The announcers (including Mel Allen and Curt Gowdy) are doing actual play-by-play that gets increasingly unhinged.
Reggie’s role might be short, but it’s the engine that drives the entire finale. Without the threat of "Mr. October" taking out the British Monarchy with a snub-nosed revolver, we wouldn't have the Enrico Pallazzo sequence. And a world without Enrico Pallazzo is a world I don't want to live in.
Next time you're at a ballgame and someone starts acting a little robotic, just check their pocket for a beeper. You never know.