George Gaynes

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George Gaynes Flag of Finland

George Gaynes as Commandant Eric Lassard
Born George Jongejans
May 16, 1917 (1917-05-16) (age 91)
Helsinki, Finland
Spouse(s) Allyn Ann McLerie; 2 children

George Gaynes (born as George Jongejans on May 16, 1917) is a Finnish-born[1] American actor.

Contents

[edit] Career

Gaynes was born in Helsinki, the son of Iya De Gay (later known as Lady Iya Abdy) and Gerrit Jongejans. He is an accomplished Broadway actor, as well as a film and television star in the United States. He is best-known to movie fans as Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy series, and to television fans as the curmudgeonly Henry Warnimont on the NBC series Punky Brewster, in which his wife, Allyn Ann McLerie, guest-starred as his love interest. Gaynes is of Russian, Finnish and Dutch ancestry, and speaks several languages.[citation needed]

A United States citizen for most of his life, and blessed with a superb singing voice and an amiable stage presence, Gaynes rapidly built a reputation as a Broadway musical comedy performer in the 1940s and '50s (his best-known appearance was in Wonderful Town, the musical version of My Sister Eileen). He had a career on the opera stages of Italy and France before World War II and in the US after the war.

He alternated between stage musicals and both comic and dramatic plays, including his role as Bob Baker in the original production of Wonderful Town (1953), Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and as Henry Higgins in the 1964 US tour of My Fair Lady. In television, Gaynes provided Henry Warnimont's voice for the animated series version of Punky Brewster, and directed several episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati. Films in which he appeared include The Way We Were, Nickelodeon and Tootsie.

In 1984, he played Commandant Lassard, the titular leader, in the first of seven Police Academy movies, and audiences of the 1980s may remember him as Frank Smith, the Mafia boss who was after Luke and Laura on the popular soap opera General Hospital. In 1994, he played Serybryalzov in Louis Malle's acclaimed independent feature, Vanya on 42nd Street.

Entering films and television in the early 1960s, Gaynes was a regular on the TV daytime dramas Search for Tomorrow and General Hospital, and showed up in such movies as The Group (1968), Marooned (1969) and Doctor's Wives (1971).

[edit] Personal life

He has been married to Canadian-born stage and television actress and dancer Allyn Ann McLerie since December 20, 1953; they have two children.[1]

[edit] Selected filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2008 Police Academy 8 Eric Lassard Film is in development hell
2003 Just Married Father Robert
1997 Wag the Dog Senator Cole
1996 The Crucible Judge Samuel Sewall
1994 Vanya on 42nd Street Serybryakov
Police Academy: Mission to Moscow Cmdt. Eric Lassard
1989 Police Academy 6: City Under Siege Cmdt. Eric Lassard
1988 Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach Cmdt. Eric Lassard
1987 Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol Cmdt. Eric Lassard
1986 Police Academy 3: Back in Training Cmdt. Eric Lassard
1985 Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment Cmdt. Eric Lassard
1984 Police Academy Cmdt. Eric Lassard
Micki + Maude Dr. Eugene Glztszki
1982 Tootsie John Van Horn
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid Dr. John Hay Forrest
1976 Nickelodeon Reginald Kingsley
1975 Trilogy of Terror Dr. Chester Ramsey
1969 Marooned Mission Director
1963 PT 109 PT boat base commander

[edit] Television roles

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b George Gaynes Biography (1917-)

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Gaynes, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jongejans, George
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Helsinki, Finland
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH