Peter Van Norden, actor in Police Academy 2 and Naked Gun 2½, dies aged 75
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Actor Peter Van Norden, best known for his comic supporting roles in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) and The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), has died at the age of 75, as confirmed by the trade outlet Deadline. According to TMZ, he died peacefully on the Thursday morning in a Southern California hospice facility, where he had been struggling with multiple health conditions, with his wife Wendy at his side. In Police Academy 2 he played Officer Vinnie Schtulman, while in The Naked Gun 2½ he portrayed George H.W. Bush's chief of staff, John H. Sununu.
Born on 16 December 1950 in New York City, Van Norden graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University before moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, making his screen debut in the 1979 comedy Squeeze Play!. His other film credits included Waitress! (1981), Headin' for Broadway! (1980), Hard to Hold (1984), Roadhouse 66 (1984), The Accused (1988) and Gigli (2003), and he built an extensive television career with roles in shows such as Cheers, St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, Matlock, L.A. Law, The Stand, Murder, She Wrote, ER and 9-1-1. He is survived by his wife Wendy and their son Robert.
- Actor Peter Van Norden has died aged 75.
- Known for Police Academy 2 and Naked Gun 2u00bd roles.
- He is survived by his wife Wendy and son Robert.
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Peter Van Norden was a American character actor whose career spanned five decades, though he was rarely a household name himself. He was best recognised for two comic supporting roles: Officer Vinnie Schtulman in the 1985 comedy Police Academy 2, and John H. Sununu, chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, in the spoof film The Naked Gun 2½ in 1991.
Born in New York in 1950, he trained at Colgate University before heading to Los Angeles, where he built a long and varied body of work beyond his best-known films, including parts in Cheers, Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, ER and 9-1-1. This breadth of television and film credits is why his death has drawn attention from entertainment outlets, even though he was not widely known outside his roles.
He has died aged 75, having been unwell for some time, and is survived by his wife and son.
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Originally published by Deadline as “Peter Van Norden Dies: ‘Police Academy 2’ & ‘The Naked Gun 2½’ Actor Was 75”.