George R. Robertson, who played Chief Hurst (later Commissioner) in the first six Police Academy films during a half-century screen career, has died. He was 89. His family said he died January 29 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto but did not give other details.
Robertson had been working in TV and films for nearly 15 years when he was cast as the strict but fair Chief Henry Hurst in Police Academy, the 1984 cop farce starring Steve Guttenberg. The film was a left-field hit and went on to spawn a franchise that spanned seven films during the next decade, including one a year through 1989. He appeared in the first six but not the Moscow-set final one in 1994.
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Robertson had been working in TV and films for nearly 15 years when he was cast as the strict but fair Chief Henry Hurst in Police Academy, the 1984 cop farce starring Steve Guttenberg. The film was a left-field hit and went on to spawn a franchise that spanned seven films during the next decade, including one a year through 1989. He appeared in the first six but not the Moscow-set final one in 1994.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Oliver Stone Criticizes "Mr. Putin's Aggression In Ukraine" After Previously Saying There Was "No Proof" Russia Intended To Invade Related Story Art Metrano Dies: 'Police Academy' Actor,...
- 2/4/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Canadian actor George R. Robertson passed away in Toronto on February 3, 2023. He was 89.
Robertson is perhaps best known for playing the role of Chief, then Commissioner Henry Hurst in the first six "Police Academy" movies, released yearly from 1984 to 1989. The "Police Academy" series, while not well-reviewed, were massively successful, providing a generation with a cop-themed, National Lampoon-style snobs-vs.-slobs cinematic bedrock. According to the 2010 book "George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success" by Alex Ben Block and Lucy Autrey Wilson, the first "Police Academy" film made nearly 150 million on a 4 million budget.
The premise of the series was simple: due to a shortage of police officers in an unnamed American city, the local police department has been ordered to accept anyone who applies for the job. This leads to a comedy of errors wherein every weirdo,...
Robertson is perhaps best known for playing the role of Chief, then Commissioner Henry Hurst in the first six "Police Academy" movies, released yearly from 1984 to 1989. The "Police Academy" series, while not well-reviewed, were massively successful, providing a generation with a cop-themed, National Lampoon-style snobs-vs.-slobs cinematic bedrock. According to the 2010 book "George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success" by Alex Ben Block and Lucy Autrey Wilson, the first "Police Academy" film made nearly 150 million on a 4 million budget.
The premise of the series was simple: due to a shortage of police officers in an unnamed American city, the local police department has been ordered to accept anyone who applies for the job. This leads to a comedy of errors wherein every weirdo,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
George R. Robertson, the Canadian actor best known for playing police chief and later police commissioner Henry Hurst in the first six films of the Police Academy franchise, died on January 29th. He was 89.
“Husband, father, grandfather, actor, writer, painter, humanitarian George bid this world goodbye, surrounded by his loving family on January 29, 2023, at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre,” Robertson’s family wrote in his obituary. “He leaves a legacy of many accomplishments.”
George Ross Robertson was born in Brampton, Ontario on April 20th, 1933. He spent much of his adolescence involved in school athletics such as hockey and football; he’d then go on to earn his Mba from Columbia University in 1959.
After beginning his acting career onstage, Robertson went on to have a six-decade-plus career in film and television. His first appearance on screen was an uncredited role in the 1968 cult horror film Rosemary’s Baby, with his big break coming...
“Husband, father, grandfather, actor, writer, painter, humanitarian George bid this world goodbye, surrounded by his loving family on January 29, 2023, at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre,” Robertson’s family wrote in his obituary. “He leaves a legacy of many accomplishments.”
George Ross Robertson was born in Brampton, Ontario on April 20th, 1933. He spent much of his adolescence involved in school athletics such as hockey and football; he’d then go on to earn his Mba from Columbia University in 1959.
After beginning his acting career onstage, Robertson went on to have a six-decade-plus career in film and television. His first appearance on screen was an uncredited role in the 1968 cult horror film Rosemary’s Baby, with his big break coming...
- 2/3/2023
- by Abby Jones
- Consequence - Film News
George R. Robertson, the Canadian actor who portrayed the police chief and later police commissioner Henry Hurst in the first six Police Academy films, has died. He was 89.
Robertson died Sunday at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, his family announced.
Robertson also showed up in small roles in three films that were nominated for the best picture Oscar — Airport (1970), Norma Rae (1979) and JFK (1991) — and portrayed vice president Dick Cheney in the 2006 ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11.
Robertson appeared as Hurst in 1994 in the first Police Academy movie, directed by Hugh Wilson, and stuck around through Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989). His character grows more tolerant of the wacky recruits led by Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) as the franchise moves along.
The actor did not make the trip to Moscow for the 1994 installment but was on one episode of the 1997-98 Police Academy series at CTV.
George Ross Robertson...
Robertson died Sunday at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, his family announced.
Robertson also showed up in small roles in three films that were nominated for the best picture Oscar — Airport (1970), Norma Rae (1979) and JFK (1991) — and portrayed vice president Dick Cheney in the 2006 ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11.
Robertson appeared as Hurst in 1994 in the first Police Academy movie, directed by Hugh Wilson, and stuck around through Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989). His character grows more tolerant of the wacky recruits led by Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) as the franchise moves along.
The actor did not make the trip to Moscow for the 1994 installment but was on one episode of the 1997-98 Police Academy series at CTV.
George Ross Robertson...
- 2/3/2023
- by Mike Barnes and Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In “Infidel,” Jim Caviezel plays Christian blogger Doug Rawlins, who travels to Cairo to participate in a televised conference on religion. The Muslim host seeks commonalities between the two faiths. “We love Jesus Christ,” the man says, after which Doug pauses for a moment, weighing his words, before rejecting the figurative olive branch. “He is God,” Doug says. “And He wants to be your God.” The audience is stunned at Doug’s audacity. Less surprising to all parties, Doug is kidnapped from his hotel room by angry Muslims a few hours later.
The latest film from controversial writer-director Cyrus Nowrasteh (“The Path to 9/11”) actually opens with a forward glimpse of Doug facing a firing squad on a Tehran rooftop, so we know from the jump that his Cairo visit didn’t go well. On the surface, “Infidel” appears to be a straightforward Middle East-set thriller — the kind that reaffirms Americans’ xenophobic impulses,...
The latest film from controversial writer-director Cyrus Nowrasteh (“The Path to 9/11”) actually opens with a forward glimpse of Doug facing a firing squad on a Tehran rooftop, so we know from the jump that his Cairo visit didn’t go well. On the surface, “Infidel” appears to be a straightforward Middle East-set thriller — the kind that reaffirms Americans’ xenophobic impulses,...
- 9/20/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Top brass at Disney were called on Thursday to defend their decision not to release The Path to 9/11 on DVD and to justify CEO Robert Iger's $27.7 million pay package.
Path was a 2006 ABC miniseries critical of President Bill Clinton's handling of terrorist threats that was so controversial it prompted leading Democrats to ask Disney not to air the program. Disney, after making some hasty edits, ran it commercial-free.
At Disney's annual shareholders' meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., one mutual fund portfolio manager said it was high time Disney turn Path into a DVD and recoup some of the $40 million it spent on the project.
The fund manager, Tom Borelli, accused Iger of protecting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign at the expense of shareholders and pointed out that Iger has been a steady Clinton donor since before the former first lady was elected to the Senate.
He claimed to have a letter from a Lionsgate representative proving that Disney has no intention of even selling the DVD rights to another company.
The Path question came shortly after another shareholder objected to foul language and persistent sexual innuendos on such ABC shows as Ugly Betty and Good Morning America, prompting Iger to cite ABC's right of free speech. Borelli demanded to know why Iger seemed more interested in protecting curse words than he was in protecting political speech.
Path was a 2006 ABC miniseries critical of President Bill Clinton's handling of terrorist threats that was so controversial it prompted leading Democrats to ask Disney not to air the program. Disney, after making some hasty edits, ran it commercial-free.
At Disney's annual shareholders' meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., one mutual fund portfolio manager said it was high time Disney turn Path into a DVD and recoup some of the $40 million it spent on the project.
The fund manager, Tom Borelli, accused Iger of protecting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign at the expense of shareholders and pointed out that Iger has been a steady Clinton donor since before the former first lady was elected to the Senate.
He claimed to have a letter from a Lionsgate representative proving that Disney has no intention of even selling the DVD rights to another company.
The Path question came shortly after another shareholder objected to foul language and persistent sexual innuendos on such ABC shows as Ugly Betty and Good Morning America, prompting Iger to cite ABC's right of free speech. Borelli demanded to know why Iger seemed more interested in protecting curse words than he was in protecting political speech.
NEW YORK -- The marquee matchup that opened NBC's regular-season Sunday Night Football prevailed in an unusually strong night of television highlighted by Sept. 11-related programming and premieres of Fox's sitcom lineup. ABC's controversial miniseries The Path to 9/11 did respectable though not overwhelming numbers. The Manning-vs.-Manning drama that pitted brothers Peyton and Eli -- quarterbacks of the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants, respectively -- was the night's most-watched program by a football field-sized margin, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research.
- 9/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Despite controversy and the president's primetime speech cutting into its conclusion, ABC's miniseries The Path to 9/11 won in key measures Monday night. The troubled miniseries took hits for its portrayal of the Clinton administration. But it could have been derailed by a move made in the Bush administration -- the president's primetime Oval Office speech on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Instead, Path started ahead and according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research, never looked back. Path averaged 12 million viewers and a 3.8 rating/10 share in the adults 18-49 demographic according to Nielsen estimates.
- 9/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- The marquee matchup that opened NBC's regular-season Sunday Night Football prevailed in an unusually strong night of television highlighted by 9/11-related programming and premieres of Fox's sitcom lineup. ABC's controversial miniseries The Path to 9/11 did respectable, although not overwhelming numbers. The Manning-against-Manning drama between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants -- which the Colts won, 26-21 -- was according to preliminary estimates the night's most watched program as well as the highest-rated in the adults 18-49 demographic. Sunday Night Football averaged 20.7 million viewers and an 8.1 rating/19 share in the demographic, according to preliminary data released Monday by Nielsen Media Research. That's about even with last year's opener for Monday Night Football. It faced off against tough competition on the other three broadcast networks, including ABC's first night of The Path to 9/11 as well as an updated version of CBS' 9/11 documentary and the premiere of The Simpsons, Family Guy and other Fox sitcoms.
- 9/11/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
George W. Bush could cross paths with The Path to 9/11. It appears ABC is considering scheduling a 20-minute break during the second night of its controversial miniseries on the East Coast to accommodate a televised presidential address scheduled for Monday. The network specified that plan in a daily programming listing it e-mailed to the media, but an ABC spokeswoman contradicted the listing, explaining that options are still being discussed and a final determination as to what its Monday lineup will be has yet to be made. The White House had all the broadcasters scurrying Friday to reschedule its primetime lineups for Monday to make room for Bush, who is slated to give a speech at 9 p.m. ET concerning the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
George W. Bush could cross paths with The Path to 9/11. It appears ABC is considering scheduling a 20-minute break during the second night of its controversial miniseries on the East Coast to accommodate a televised presidential address scheduled for Monday. The network specified that plan in a daily programming listing it e-mailed to the media, but an ABC spokeswoman contradicted the listing, explaining that options are still being discussed and a final determination as to what its Monday lineup will be has yet to be made. The White House had all the broadcasters scurrying Friday to reschedule its primetime lineups for Monday to make room for Bush, who is slated to give a speech at 9 p.m. ET concerning the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
ABC issued a defense Thursday of its controversial miniseries The Path to 9/11, which has come under fire from members of the Clinton administration. The network released a statement saying that the five-hour telefilm, which airs Sunday and Monday nights, is not meant to be a documentary but a "dramatization" of the events leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "It is a dramatization drawn from a variety of sources including the '9/11 Commission Report, ' other published materials and personal interviews," the network said. "As such, for dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue and time compression." A spokeswoman for the network declined comment on the statement.
ABC issued a defense Thursday of its controversial miniseries The Path to 9/11, which has come under fire from members of the Clinton administration. The network released a statement explaining that the six-hour movie, which airs Sunday, is not meant to be a documentary but a "dramatization" of the events leading up to the 2001 terrorist attacks. "It is a dramatization, drawn from a variety of sources including the 9/11 Commission Report, other published materials, and personal interviews. As such, for dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, and time compression," the network explained.
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