David Graf David Graf was an American actor who guest - starred on both and . On " Voyager " , he played Amelia Earhart ' s navigator , Fred Noonan , in the second season opening episode , . On DS9 , he appeared as the Klingon Leskit in the episode . His widow , Kathryn Graf , is also a DS9 alum , having guest - starred in , the second episode filmed for the series . Prior to his appearance as Noonan in the " Voyager " episode " The 37 ' s " , Graf guest - starred in a series called " Voyagers ! " ( " VOY Season 2 DVD " " The 37 ' s " text commentary ) In addition to his episodic appearances , Graf also did voice work on several " Trek " video games , including " " and " " . He is best remembered for his role as Officer ( and later Sergeant ) Eugene Tackleberry in all seven of the " Police Academy " movies from 1984 through 1994 . He also played the character on the short - lived 1997 - 98 series inspired by the films . One of these films , 1988 ' s " Police Academy 5 : Assignment : Miami Beach " , also featured his wife , Kathryn , as well as DS9 star Rene Auberjonois and TNG guest star Matt McCoy . In fact , all the other " Police Academy " films featured fellow " Trek " alumni : the first film ( 1984 ) had Kim Cattrall , Steve Guttenberg and Scott Thomson ; " Police Academy 2 : Their First Assignment " ( 1985 ) had Arthur Batanides , who also appeared in the fourth and sixth films ; Scott Thomson , Steve Guttenberg and Brian Tochi appeared in " Police Academy 3 : Back in Training " ( 1986 ) and also appeared in " Police Academy 4 : Citizens on Patrol " ( 1987 ) ; " Police Academy 6 : City Under Siege " ( 1989 ) featured Gerrit Graham , Darryl Henriques , Kenneth Mars , Matt McCoy , Beans Morocco , and Angelo Tiffe ; and Ron Perlman co - starred in " Police Academy : Mission to Moscow " ( 1994 ) . Biography . Born in Lancaster , Ohio , Graf attended Lancaster High School where his love of theater and drama were predominant . Upon graduation in 1968 , he attended Otterbein University , where he majored in theater . From there , he went to graduate school at Ohio State University but dropped out in 1975 and moved to New York City to pursue a professional acting career , ultimately breaking into film and television in 1981 . Graf was described as a shy person who kept to himself . He died of a heart attack at a family wedding just nine days short of his 51st birthday . His father and grandfather both also suffered heart attacks and died at age 51 . Career . Graf , struggling to find acting work , made his television debut as a contestant on the game show " The $ 20 , 000 Pyramid " , where he won US $ 10 , 000 with the help of celebrity guest panelist . Graf himself became a guest panelist on the show , competing " against " Duke . After his game show appearance , Graf took on small guest roles on popular TV shows like " M * A * S * H " ( starring David Ogden Stiers , in an episode with Cyril O ' Reilly ) , " The A - Team " ( starring Dwight Schultz , in an episode with Javier Grajeda and Carlos LaCamara ) and " Hardcastle and McCormick " ( starring Brian Keith and Daniel Hugh Kelly ) . He also made his feature film debut in the 1981 drama " Four Friends " , starring Craig Wasson and Jim Metzler and also featuring Natalia Nogulich . Acquiring some celebrity as Tackleberry in 1984 ' s " Police Academy " , Graf opted to reprise the role in five sequels , each released one year after the other , from 1985 through 1989 . In the meantime , he continued acting on television . He found himself as a regular on the ABC series " He ' s the Mayor " in 1986 , although it only ran for ten episodes , with three episodes filmed but never aired . He also guest - starred in an episode of " Night Court " , working with series star John Larroquette and fellow guest star Keye Luke . In addition , he starred in a few TV movies , including 1988 ' s " Police Story : The Watch Commander " , with Gregg Henry and Carlos LaCamara . When the " Police Academy " films seemingly ended after 1989 , Graf stuck primarily to television . He appeared in the last two episodes of " Beauty and the Beast " in 1990 , working alongside series star Ron Perlman as well as Jeff Corey , Fionnula Flanagan , and Ellen Geer . In 1991 he worked with future actors Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell on their series , " Quantum Leap " . That same year , he and Jeffrey Combs guest - starred in an episode of " Life Goes On " , starring Bill Smitrovich . Also in ' 91 , Graf appeared on " Doogie Howser , M . D . " , starring James B . Sikking . Graf went on to appear on such shows as " Seinfeld " ( starring Jason Alexander , in an episode with Stephen McHattie and Heidi Swedberg ) , " Picket Fences " ( with Richard McGonagle and Ray Walston ) , " Dream On " ( with " Police Academy " co - star Kim Cattrall ) , " Lois & Clark " ( starring Teri Hatcher , in an episode with Barbara Bosson ) , " Party of Five " ( with Ellen Bry ) and " JAG " ( with James Parks ) . In his final years , Graf made appearances on shows like " Becker " ( starring Terry Farrell , in an episode with Fran Bennett and Wade Williams ) , " The West Wing " and " Son of the Beach " . He did continue acting in films , however . He had supporting roles in the 1993 thriller " Suture " and the 1994 comedy " Guarding Tess " , with the latter co - starring fellow DS9 guest star Edward Laurence Albert . Also in 1994 , he returned to the role of Sgt . Tackleberry on film one last time for a " Mission to Moscow " . Subsequent film credits include 1995 ' s " The Brady Bunch Movie " ( with James Avery , Michael McKean , and Keone Young ) and 1996 ' s " Citizen Ruth " ( with Kenneth Mars and Kurtwood Smith ) and " Skeletons " ( co - starring Dennis Christopher and Christopher Plummer ) . More recently , he had a small role in the 2000 hit " Rules of Engagement " , along with Gordon Clapp , Thomas Knickerbocker , and Richard McGonagle , and had a supporting role in the little - known adventure film " The Cactus Kid " , co - starring Mike Starr . And in 2002 Graf co - starred with fellow " Trek " actors Scott Bakula , Ron Perlman , and John Schuck in the made - for - TV movie " The Trial of Old Drum " . This latter production proved to be Graf ' s final acting work ; it was released six months after his death .