George Gaynes (born George Jongejans; May 16, 1917) is a Finnish-born American singer and actor of stage, screen and television and voice artistGaynes' most recognized role in cinema was arguably that of Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy series. To television fans, he is perhaps best known as the curmudgeonly Henry Warnimont on the NBC series Punky Brewster; as high-powered theatrical producer Arthur Feldman on The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, in which Gaynes' real-life wife, Allyn Ann McLerie, co-starred as his love interest; and as Frank Smith, the mob boss brought down by Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) on the soap opera General Hospital.
Police Academy, Tootsie, Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach, Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, Police Academy 3: Back in Training, Just Married, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, Wag the Dog, The Way We Were, Va...
TV Shows
Hearts Afire, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Punky Brewster, Search for Tomorrow, It's Punky Brewster, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II
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Trademark
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Deep grumpy commanding voice
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Fact
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Best known for his roles as Henry Warnimont on Punky Brewster (1984) and Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy series.
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George Gaynes passed away on February 15, 2016, three months away from what would have been his 99th birthday on May 16.
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He and his wife, Allyn Ann McLerie, were founders of the State Street Ballet Company in Santa Barbara.
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His son Matthew suffered from drug abuse for many years. He died in a car crash in India in 1989. He was traveling through Northern India to Nepal to film a kayaking special for ESPN. Left behind a widow whom he had married earlier that year.
In Europe, he served in the Dutch and British Navies during World War II.
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Gaynes and wife Allyn Ann McLerie moved from Los Angeles, California to Santa Barbara, California, in 1989.
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Met actress/dancer, Allyn Ann McLerie, in New York City, where they were both performing on Broadway in 1952.
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Grandfather of Nicole Falcone Stryjak.
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Before he was a film and television actor, he was a singer and established Broadway actor.
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His father, Gerrit Jongejans, was a Dutch businessman. His mother, Iya Grigorievna De Gay (Lady Iya Abdy), was of mostly Russian ancestry, with smaller amounts of Polish and French roots.
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His great-grandchild, Portia, was born in 2012.
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His uncle, Gregory Gaye, died in 1993. He lived to be 92.
After appearing in Just Married (2003), he retired from acting in 2003, at age 86.
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Best known by the public for his starring roles as Henry Warnimont on Punky Brewster (1984) and as Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy (1984) movies.
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