Peter Van Norden, the actor who appeared in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment and The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, has died. He was 75.
The actor’s wife Wendy was by his side as he died peacefully Thursday morning in a Southern California hospice facility, where he was struggling with multiple health conditions, according to TMZ.
Born December 16, 1950 in New York City, Van Norden graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University in Upstate NY before moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, making his onscreen debut in the Lloyd Kaufman-helmed ’79 comedy Squeeze Play!.
Van Norden later appeared in the Troma Entertainment founder’s 1981 comedy Waitress!, also starring in films like Headin’ for Broadway! (1980), Hard to Hold (1984), Roadhouse 66 (1984), The Accused (1988) and Gigli (2003).
In 1985, he joined the Police Academy franchise with the second installment, playing Officer Vinnie Schtulman. Van Norden later played George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff John H. Sununu in The Naked Gun 2½ (1991).
Peter Van Norden in ‘The Stand’ (1994)
CBS via Getty Images
On TV, Van Norden appeared in shows like Cheers, TJ Hooker, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Hill Street Blues, Newhart, Matlock, LA Law, The Stand, Tales from the Crypt, Murder She Wrote, Nash Bridges, Family Matters, ER, Days of Our Lives and 9-1-1.
Van Norden is survived by wife Wendy and son Robert.