| G. W. Bailey | |
|---|---|
Bailey as "Captain Harris" in Police Academy |
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| Born | George William Bailey August 27, 1944 Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1974–present |
George William "G.W." Bailey (born August 27, 1944) is an American stage, television and film actor. Although he appeared in many dramatic roles, he may be best remembered for his "crusty" comedic characters such as Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in M*A*S*H (TV-Series 1979-83); Lieutenant—and later, Captain—Thaddeus Harris in Police Academy (1984–94), and Captain Felix Maxwell in Mannequin (1987). He currently stars on the TNT series The Closer as Lt. Provenza.[1]
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Bailey was born in Port Arthur, Texas. He went to Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur with Janis Joplin and Jimmy Johnson. He started college at Lamar University in nearby Beaumont and transferred to Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He left college and spent the mid-1960s working at local theater companies before moving to California in the mid-1970s, where he landed roles on television programs of the day such as Starsky and Hutch and Charlie's Angels. His film debut was in A Force of One (1979), an early Chuck Norris film. He then got his breakout role as Rizzo in M*A*S*H.
He returned to college in 1993, attending Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He graduated in May 1994 with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts, Theatre. For the 1999–2000 school year, he was the Artist-in-Residence.
Since 2001, Bailey has served as the Executive Director of the Sunshine Kids Foundation,[2] which provides trips and activities for hundreds of young cancer patients annually. He has been a volunteer for more than 15 years since being introduced to the organization by his goddaughter, who was diagnosed with leukemia.[2]