Police Academy actor George R. Robertson, who played Chief Hurst in six films in the franchise, has died aged 89.
His family told The Hollywood Reporter that he died in a Toronto hospital last Sunday and a memorial is being prepared for the end of March.
The Police Academy franchise began in 1984 and spawned seven films over the next decade, with Robertson in the first six.
Set in an unspecified American town, the films revolved around a police academy that was told to take on any recruits who wanted to join, even the goofiest ones.
Robertson turned in a memorable performance as a member of the old guard who longs for the days when the cops “all had Johnsons.”
Dearly Departed: Police Academy actor George R. Robertson, who played Chief Hurst in six franchise films, has died aged 89; photographed in 2012
Unforgettable: Robertson turned in a memorable performance at the Police Academy as a member of the aspiring old guard back when the cops ‘all had Johnsons’
Born in Brampton, Ontario in 1933, he was an award-winning athlete during his school days before crossing the border and attending Columbia University’s business school.
There he met his future wife Adele, to whom he was married for 61 years until her death last month.
Despite a master’s degree in commerce, he felt the call of the stage and became a theater actor before working in films.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, he landed small roles in legendary films such as Rosemary’s Baby, Airport, and Norma Rae.
In the mid-1980s, he landed his most beloved role as Chief Hurst, who is initially resistant to changes in his department but later warms up to newbies.
Over the course of the film franchise, his character, Chief Hurst, manages to rise through the ranks to commissioner.
Steve Guttenberg helmed the early films as dashing criminal Carey Mahoney, who enters the police academy as an alternative to prison.
The cast included former footballer Bubba Smith, prolific actor George Gaynes and a young Kim Cattrall long before her Sex And The City days.
Iconic: Robertson is pictured in the original 1984 Police Academy photo between prolific actor George Gaynes (left) and leading man Steve Guttenberg (right)
Throwback: Robertson (right) is pictured in his sixth and final Police Academy films with co-stars (left to right) David Graf, Michael Winslow and Leslie Easterbrook
‘They all had Johnsons’: Robertson, whose character is initially resistant to change, is portrayed in the first film with GW Bailey (left) and George Gaynes (centre)
Mainstay: Robertson stayed with the franchise through its first six films and is pictured in the fourth with Bobcat Goldthwait (left) and Gaynes (centre)
Robertson left the franchise after the sixth film, refusing to stay on for the seventh and final film, 1994’s Police Academy: Mission to Moscow.
However, his acting career continued rapidly, including a turn as Barry Goldwater in the 2003 film The Reagans starring James Brolin and Judy Davis.
He was back in a political role as Dick Cheney in the controversial two-part ABC The Path To 9/11, which aired in 2006 to mark the fifth anniversary of the jihad attacks.
Robertson’s landmark roles included Admiral Leahy in 1995’s Hiroshima and Senator Fulbright in 2003’s The Pentagon Papers.
He even played a fictional president in the 1995 picture National Lampoon’s Senior Trip, the movie debut of future Marvel idol Jeremy Renner.
Alongside his acting career, he dabbled in humanitarian work, notably as an ambassador for UNICEF, in which capacity he spoke at schools dressed as Chief Hurst.
In 1990, a year after starring in his final Police Academy film, he received the Danny Kaye Award from UNICEF Canada.
Robertson also raised money for an orphanage in Thailand by traveling a staggering 328 miles through southwest France.
His native Canada praised him for his work, with the CBC presenting him with the Margaret Collier Lifetime Achievement Award and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presenting him with its Gemini Award for Humanitarianism.
He continued acting well into the 2010s, playing his final role in the 2017 National Geographic film Cradle To Grave about the lifelong aging process.
Trouper: He continued acting well into the 2010s, playing his final role in the 2017 National Geographic film Cradle To Grave about the lifelong aging process (pictured)
Giving back: Robertson, pictured in 2001, has also embarked on humanitarian work for which he has received accolades including the Danny Kaye Award from UNICEF Canada in his native country
