# George Gaynes

George Gaynes (born George Jongejans; May 16, 1917 – February 15, 2016) was a Dutch-American singer, actor, and voice artist. Born to Dutch and Russian-Finnish parents in the Grand Duchy of Finland of the Russian Empire, he served in the Royal Netherlands Navy during World War II, and subsequently emigrated to the United States, where he became a citizen and began his acting career on Broadway.
Gaynes' most recognized roles in cinema were that of Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy series and as John Van Horn in the 1982 comedy film Tootsie. He appeared as the curmudgeonly but lovable foster parent Henry Warnimont on the NBC series Punky Brewster; as high-powered theatrical producer Arthur Feldman on The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd; as Senator Strobe Smithers in the hit TV show Hearts Afire; and as Frank Smith, the mob boss brought down by Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and Laura Spencer (Genie Francis) on the soap opera General Hospital.

## Early life

Gaynes was born on May 16, 1917, in Helsinki, in what was then the Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Russian Empire (Finland became independent that year), the son of Iya Grigorievna de Gay (later known as Lady Abdy), a Russian artist of Finnish descent, and Gerrit Jongejans, a Dutch businessman. His uncle was the actor Gregory Gaye. He was raised in France, England, and Switzerland.
Gaynes graduated from the Collège Classique Cantonal near Lausanne in 1937. He also attended the Music School of Milan from 1938 to 1939, and many many years later trained at the Actors Studio in New York City from 1953 to 1958.

## World War II

In 1940, Gaynes lived in France, but after the Battle of France and the German occupation, he escaped to the Pyrenees, but was soon arrested by the Francoist Spain police. In 1942 after his release, Gaynes intended to return to the Netherlands to join the Dutch resistance against the Nazi occupation, but instead made his way to the United Kingdom to enlist in the Royal Dutch Navy. On April 8, 1943, Gaynes was commissioned as a seaman recruit and assigned to the auxiliary ship HNLMS Oranje Nassau, which was stationed at Holyhead in Wales. Because of his multilingualism (he spoke Dutch, English, French, Italian, and Russian), he was detached on May 1, 1943, to the Royal Navy as a translator assigned to the convoy commodore aboard HMS Hilary, which participated during July and August 1943 in Operation Husky the Allied invasion of Sicily. On September 1, 1943, Gaynes was reassigned to the destroyer HMS Wilton, which participated during January 1944 in the Battle of Anzio. On January 1, 1944, he was promoted to sergeant (petty officer, 1st class). After the Battle of Anzio, HMS Wilton was assigned to the Adriatic Sea and continued to see action during the Adriatic Campaign. On July 14, 1946, Gaynes was honorably discharged from the Royal Dutch Navy.

## Career

In 1946, Gaynes returned to France, but an American theater director offered him a role in a Broadway musical and he moved to New York City later that year and became an American citizen in 1948. During this time, his best-known appearances were in Wonderful Town, the musical version of My Sister Eileen. Gaynes alternated between stage musicals and both comedic and dramatic plays, including his role as Bob Baker in the original production of Wonderful Town (1953), Jupiter in the Cole Porter musical Out of This World (credited as George Jongejans), Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, and as Henry Higgins in the 1964 U.S. tour of My Fair Lady.
Entering films and television in the early 1960s, Gaynes was a regular on the TV daytime dramas Search for Tomorrow (replacing Robert Mandan in the role of Jo's husband, Sam Reynolds) and General Hospital (originating the role of mobster Frank Smith), and showed up in such movies as The Group (1966), Marooned (1969), and Doctor's Wives (1971). He also appeared in the films The Way We Were (1973), Nickelodeon (1976), and Tootsie (1982). In 1984, he played Commandant Lassard, the titular leader, in the first of seven Police Academy movies. In 1994, he played Serybryalzov in Louis Malle's acclaimed independent feature, Vanya on 42nd Street. Later film appearances include The Crucible (1996), Wag the Dog (1997) and Just Married (2003).
On television, Gaynes played the role of Henry Warnimont, the eventual foster father for Punky Brewster in the eponymous series from 1984-1988. He also provided the voice for Henry in the animated version of the show. He appeared as high-powered theatrical producer Arthur Feldman on The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, in which Gaynes' real-life wife, Allyn Ann McLerie, co-starred as his love interest, and as Senator Strobe Smithers in the hit TV show Hearts Afire. He also appeared in one episode of the sci-fi television series Sliders as the old-aged version of Quinn Mallory, played by Jerry O'Connell. Behind the camera, he directed the last episode of WKRP in Cincinnati in 1982.

## Personal life and death

Gaynes was married to stage and television actress and dancer Allyn Ann McLerie from December 20, 1953, until his death; they had two children, Matthew Gaynes and Iya Gaynes Falcone Brown. Matthew was shortlisted for the US Olympic kayak team the year that President Jimmy Carter boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Matthew died in a car crash in India in 1989 on his way to Nepal to film a kayaking special for ESPN.
In addition to Gaynes joining the cast of his wife's series The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd in 1989, McLerie and he had previously worked together on Punky Brewster, when she guest-starred in a first-season episode.
Gaynes died at his daughter's home in North Bend, Washington, on February 15, 2016, at the age of 98.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1963 | PT 109 | PT boat base commander | A biographical war film, which depicts the actions of John F. Kennedy (JFK) as an officer of the United States Navy in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109, during the Pacific War of World War II (Uncredited) |
| 1964 | Les félins | | |
| 1966 | The Group | Brook Latham | Ensemble film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the novel of the same name by Mary McCarthy. |
| 1969 | Marooned | Mission Director | Eastmancolor film directed by John Sturges, based on the 1964 novel Marooned by Martin Caidin. |
| 1971 | Doctor's Wives | Paul McGill | drama film directed by George Schaefer. |
| 1973 | The Boy Who Cried Werewolf | Dr. Marderosian | Horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran. |
| 1973 | Slaughter's Big Rip-Off | Warren | Blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Douglas. |
| 1973 | The Way We Were | El Morocco Captain | Romantic-drama film directed by Sydney Pollack. |
| 1976 | Harry and Walter Go to New York | Prince | Period comedy film, written by John Byrum & Robert Kaufman and directed by Mark Rydell. |
| 1976 | Nickelodeon | Reginald Kingsley | Comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich. |
| 1980 | Altered States | Dr. Wissenschaft | Science fiction-horror film adaptation of a novel by the same name, by playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky. The film was Chayefsky's only novel, while also being his final screenplay. Both the novel and the film are based on John C. Lilly's sensory deprivation research conducted in isolation tanks under the influence of psychoactive drugs like mescaline, ketamine and LSD. |
| 1982 | Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | Dr. John Hay Forrest | Comedy-mystery film directed by Carl Reiner. |
| 1982 | Tootsie | John Van Horn | Comedy film directed by Sydney Pollack. |
| 1983 | To Be or Not to Be | Ravitch | War comedy film, directed by Alan Johnson and produced by Mel Brooks. |
| 1983 | I'm Going to Be Famous | | |
| 1984 | Police Academy | Cmdt. Eric Lassard | Comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson. |
| 1984 | Micki + Maude | Dr. Eugene Glztszki | Comedy film directed by Blake Edwards. |
| 1985 | Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment | Cmdt. Eric Lassard | Comedy film directed by Jerry Paris, and the first of six sequels in the Police Academy series. |
| 1986 | Police Academy 3: Back in Training | Cmdt. Eric Lassard | Comedy film directed by Jerry Paris, and the second of six sequels in the Police Academy series. |
| 1987 | The Numbers Game | Don Salvatore | Directed and co-written by Giancarlo Giannini. |
| 1987 | Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol | Cmdt. Eric Lassard | Comedy film directed by Jim Drake, and the third of six sequels in the Police Academy series. |
| 1987 | Un tassinaro a New York | The Admiral | Italian film directed and co-written by Alberto Sordi. |
| 1988 | Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach | Cmdt. Eric Lassard | Comedy film directed by Alan Myerson, and the fourth of six sequels in the Police Academy series. |
| 1989 | Police Academy 6: City Under Siege | Cmdt. Eric Lassard | Comedy film directed by Peter Bonerz, and the fifth of six sequels in the Police Academy series. |
| 1994 | Police Academy: Mission to Moscow | Cmdt. Eric Lassard | Comedy film directed by Alan Metter, and the final sequel in the Police Academy series. Also known as Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow. |
| 1994 | Vanya on 42nd Street | Serybryakov | An intimate, interpretive performance of the play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, as adapted by David Mamet and directed by Louis Malle. |
| 1994 | The Fantastic Four | Professor | An independent superhero film adapted from the Marvel Comics flagship title; unreleased. |
| 1996 | The Crucible | Judge Samuel Sewall | Drama film written by Arthur Miller adapting his play of the same title, inspired by the Salem witchcraft trials, and directed by Nicholas Hytner. |
| 1997 | Wag the Dog | Senator Cole | Black comedy film produced and directed by Barry Levinson. Screenplay by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet was loosely adapted from Larry Beinhart's novel American Hero. |
| 2003 | Just Married | Father Robert | Romantic comedy film directed by Shawn Levy (final film role) |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1962 | Cheyenne | Rod Delaplane | Episode: "Vengeance is Mine" |
| 1962 | The Defenders | John Ames | Episode: "The Last Six Months" (S. 1: Ep. 27). |
| 1962 | Hawaiian Eye | Roger Korvin | Episode: "The Broken Thread" (S. 4: Ep. 4). |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Mr. Campbell, the Bank Manager | Season 1 Episode 11: "Ride the Nightmare" |
| 1963 | Empire | N/A | Episode: "The Four Thumbs Story" (S. 1: Ep. 15). |
| 1963 | The Gallant Men | Major Neumann | Episode: "Operation Secret" (S. 1: Ep. 19). |
| 1963 | East Side/West Side | Mr. Stowe | Episode: "Who Do You Kill" (S. 1: Ep. 7). |
| 1965 | The Patty Duke Show | Gaylord | Episode: "The Perfect Hostess" (S. 2: Ep. 18). |
| 1968 | Bonanza | Purdy | Episode: "The Late Ben Cartwright" (S. 9: Ep. 22). |
| 1968 | Mannix | Professor Brendan | Episode: "Who Will Dig the Graves?" (S. 2: Ep. 8). |
| 1968 | Mission: Impossible | Dr. Paul van Bergner | Episode: "The Elixir" (S. 3: Ep. 7). |
| 1970 | Hawaii Five-O | Thurman Elliott | Episode: "Kiss the Queen Goodbye" (S. 2: Ep. 25). |
| 1971 | Hogan's Heroes | 3 Star US Army Air Corp General | Episode: "Easy Come, Easy Go" (S. 6: Ep. 15). |
| 1971 | Search for Tomorrow | Sam Reynolds | Replacement for Robert Mandan. |
| 1972 | Columbo | Everett | Episode: "Étude in Black" (S. 2: Ep. 1). |
| 1972 | Search | Major Giles Matthews | Episode: "In Search of Midas" (S. 1: Ep. 8). |
| 1973 | Columbo | Frenchman | Episode: "Any Old Port in a Storm" (S. 3: Ep. 2). |
| 1974 | The Six Million Dollar Man | General Wiley | Episode: "Nuclear Alert" (S. 2: Ep. 1). |
| 1974 | Cannon | Edward Foxworth | Episode: "The Avenger" (S. 4: Ep. 7). |
| 1974 | McMillan & Wife | Burton Rohner | Episode: "Guilt by Association" (S. 4: Ep. 4). |
| 1975 | Trilogy of Terror | Dr. Chester Ramsey | Made-for-television anthology-horror film, first aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on March 4, 1975. Directed by Dan Curtis. Also known in the United States as Tales of Terror, or Terror of the Doll. |
| 1975 | McCloud | Floyd Spencer | Episode: "Fire!" (S. 6: Ep. 3). |
| 1976 | Captains and the Kings | Orestes Bradley | Made-for-TV-Movie |
| 1976 | City of Angels | Eisley | Episode: "Palm Springs Answer" (S. 1: Ep. 7). |
| 1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man Book II | Max Vincent | Miniseries |
| 1976 | Black Sheep Squadron | Gen. Chennault | Episodes: "Flying Misfits, part 1" (S. 1: Ep. 1). "Flying Misfits, part 2" (S. 1: Ep. 2). |
| 1976 | The Quest | Gotham | Episode: "Day Of Outrage" (S. 1: Ep. 4). |
| 1976 | Delvecchio | Commissioner Schaub | Episode: "Hot Spell" (S. 1: Ep. 8). |
| 1977 | Washington: Behind Closed Doors | Brewster Perry | Miniseries |
| 1977 | Carter Country | Murdock | Episode: "Out of the Closet" (S. 1: Ep. 3). |
| 1979 | Quincy, M.E. | Airline Executive | Episode: "Aftermath" (S. 4: Ep. 16). |
| 1979 | Stockard Channing in Just Friends | Rock La Rue | Episode: "Health May Be Hazardous" (S. 1: Ep. 5). |
| 1979 | WKRP In Cincinnati | Henri | Episode: "Jennifer's Home For Christmas" (S. 1: Ep. 11). |
| 1980 | General Hospital | Frank Smith | Contract role |
| 1980 | Scruples | John Prince | TV Miniseries |
| 1981 | Evita Peron | Evita's Doctor | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Marvin J. Chomsky. |
| 1982 | Quincy, M.E. | Powell Dixon | Episode: "The Unquiet Grave" (S. 7: Ep. 21). |
| 1983 | Cheers | Malcolm Kramer | Episode: "Where There's A Will" (S. 2: Ep. 12). |
| 1984 | Blue Thunder | Doctor Willi Von Hartig | Episode: "Payload" (S. 1: Ep. 8). |
| 1984 | ABC Afterschool Special | Cmdr. Arnold Arrangussen | Episode: "Mom's On Strike" (S. 13: Ep. 4) |
| 1984–88 | Punky Brewster | Henry Warnimont | Contract role |
| 1985–86 | It's Punky Brewster | Henry Warnimont (Voice) | 26 episodes |
| 1986 | Hotel | Gerald Milburn | Episode: "Scapegoats" (S. 3: Ep. 12) |
| 1987 | Punky Brewster | Lars Warnimont | Episode: "It's a Dog's Life" (S. 3: Ep. 10). |
| 1987 | Matlock | Judge Hollis D. Dunaway | Episodes: "The Power Brokers, part 1" (S. 2: Ep. 5). "The Power Brokers, part 2" (S. 2: Ep. 6). |
| 1989 | The New Lassie | Mr. Ogilvy | Episode: "Dangerous Party (a.k.a. Halloween)" (S. 1: Ep. 6). |
| 1989–91 | The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd | Arthur Feldman | Contract role |
| 1992 | Dinosaurs | Elder in Chief | Episode: "Nuts to War, part 2" (S. 2: Ep. 20). |
| 1992–93 | Hearts Afire | Senator Strobe Smithers | Contract role |
| 1996 | Chicago Hope | Brook Austin | Recurring role |
| 1998 | Police Academy: The Series | Cmdt. Eric Lassard | Episode: "Lend Me Your Ears" (S. 1: Ep. 15). |
| 1999 | Sliders | Old Quinn Mallory | Episode: "Roads Taken" (S. 4: Ep. 21). |