Police Academy star George R Robertson who played hapless Chief Hurst dies

04 February 2023 , 07:44

670 0

Police Academy star George R. Robertson has died at the age of 89.

The actor played Chief Hurst in six movies in the franchise and was remembered for playing the old guard who was always longing for the days when cops "all had Johnsons".

His family have confirmed he died at a Toronto hospital last Sunday and a memorial is planned for later in March.

The star was born in Brampton, Ontario in 1933, and he went on to be a prize-winning athlete in his school days before crossing the border and going to business school at Columbia University.

It was there that he met his future wife Adele and they were married for 61 years until his death last month.

Police Academy star George R Robertson who played hapless Chief Hurst dies qhiqhuiquriddtinv

George was a household name (Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

Despite going to university and earning his master's degree in business, George felt that acting was for him so he went on to work in theatre.

The the 60s and 70s he found himself in small roles in Rosemary's Baby, Airport and Norma Rae.

It was in the 1980s that he became a household name after securing his role as Chief Hurst.

Over the course of the films, his character Chief Hurst manages to rise up the ranks to the position of Commissioner.

George had a successful career (Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

The franchise's cast was made up of household names such as former football player Bubba Smith, George Gaynes and a young Kim Cattrall before her Sex And The City days.

Robertson left after six films, declining to stay for the last one, 1994's Police Academy: Mission To Moscow.

However, this wasn't the end of his acting career as he went on to play Barry Goldwater in the 2003 film The Reagans starring James Brolin and Judy Davis.

George R. Robertson played Chief Hurst

In 2006 Robertson played Dick Cheney in the controversial ABC two-parter The Path To 9/11.

He also took on the roles of Admiral Leahy in 1995's Hiroshima and Senator Fulbright in 2003's The Pentagon Papers.

As he worked on his acting career, he also threw himself into humanitarian work, being as a UNICEF ambassador where he spoke at schools dressed as Chief Hurst.

Just a year after he left the film franchise, the actor found himself being given the Danny Kaye UNICEF Canada Award in 1990.

George died aged 89

His last role was in 2017 (Toronto Star via Getty Images)

George took on an impressive 328 mile walk through the southwest of France to raise money for an orphanage in Thailand.

Canada rewarded him for his work, giving him the Margaret Collier Award for lifetime achievement and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television giving him their Gemini award for humanitarianism.

Robertson's final role was in the 2017 National Geographic movie Cradle To Grave about the lifetime aging process.

We'll be bringing you the latest updates on this breaking showbiz news story.

Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story . Get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox by .

Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following The Mirror every time you see our name.