- George Gaynes
Infobox Actor
name = George Gaynes
caption = George Gaynes as CommandantEric Lassard
birthname = George Jongejans
birthdate = birth date and age|1917|05|16
birthplace =Helsinki ,Finland
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
occupation =
yearsactive =
spouse =Allyn Ann McLerie
(1953-present)
domesticpartner =
website =George Gaynes (born as George Jongejans on
May 16 ,1917 ) is a Finnish-born [http://www.filmreference.com/film/45/George-Gaynes.html George Gaynes Biography (1917-)] ] Americanactor .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. Fact|date=March 2008A 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 beforeWorld 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).Personal life
He has been married to Canadian-born stage and television actress and dancer
Allyn Ann McLerie sinceDecember 20 ,1953 ; they have two children.elected filmography
Television roles
* "
Chicago Hope " – Brook Austin
* "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd " – Arthur Feldman
* "Hearts Afire " – Senator Strobe Smithers
* "Punky Brewster " – Henry Warnimont
* "Hogan's Heroes " - 3 Star US Army Air Corp General - Episode 159 (1971)References
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=
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