George Gaynes

• Name — George Gaynes • Birth Name — George Jongejans • Born — 16 May 1917 [O.S. May 3] • Birthplace — Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire • Died — 15 February 2016 • Place of death — North Bend, Washington, U.S. • Occupation — Actor, singer • Years Active — 1940–2003 • Known for — Tootsie Police Academy Punky Brewster • Children — 2 • Parents — Gerrit Jongejans (father) Iya Grigorievna de Gay (mother) • Relatives — Gregory Gaye (uncle)

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, 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.

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 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 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.

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). From 1984-1994, he played Commandant Eric Lassard, the titular leader, in the Police Academy series of 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 TV series Punky Brewster 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.

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, aged 98.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1962 — Cheyenne — Rod Delaplane — Episode: "Vengeance is Mine" • The Defenders — John Ames — Episode: "The Last Six Months" (S. 1: Ep. 27). • Hawaiian Eye — Roger Korvin — Episode: "The Broken Thread" (S. 4: Ep. 4). • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour — Mr. Campbell, the Bank Manager — Season 1 Episode 11: "Ride the Nightmare" • 1963 — Empire — Episode: "The Four Thumbs Story" (S. 1: Ep. 15). • The Gallant Men — Major Neumann — Episode: "Operation Secret" (S. 1: Ep. 19). • 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). • Mannix — Professor Brendan — Episode: "Who Will Dig the Graves?" (S. 2: Ep. 8). • 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). • Search for Tomorrow — Sam Reynolds — Replacement for Robert Mandan. • 1972 — Columbo — Everett — Episode: "Étude in Black" (S. 2: Ep. 1). • 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). • Cannon — Edward Foxworth — Episode: "The Avenger" (S. 4: Ep. 7). • 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. • McCloud — Floyd Spencer — Episode: "Fire!" (S. 6: Ep. 3). • 1976 — Captains and the Kings — Orestes Bradley — Made-for-TV-Movie • City of Angels — Eisley — Episode: "Palm Springs Answer" (S. 1: Ep. 7). • Rich Man, Poor Man Book II — Max Vincent — Miniseries • Black Sheep Squadron — Gen. Chennault — Episodes: * "Flying Misfits, part 1" (S. 1: Ep. 1). * "Flying Misfits, part 2" (S. 1: Ep. 2). • The Quest — Gotham — Episode: "Day Of Outrage" (S. 1: Ep. 4). • Delvecchio — Commissioner Schaub — Episode: "Hot Spell" (S. 1: Ep. 8). • 1977 — Washington: Behind Closed Doors — Brewster Perry — Miniseries • Carter Country — Murdock — Episode: "Out of the Closet" (S. 1: Ep. 3). • 1979 — Quincy, M.E. — Airline Executive — Episode: "Aftermath" (S. 4: Ep. 16). • Stockard Channing in Just Friends — Rock La Rue — Episode: "Health May Be Hazardous" (S. 1: Ep. 5). • 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). • 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). • 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).

George Gaynes was recorded at birth as George Jongejans. The authorities additionally record the heading George Jongejans. His recorded languages were English and Finnish. His recorded confession was Russian Greek Catholic Church. He was the child of Gerrit Jongeyans and Iya Abdy. He married Allyn Ann McLerie.

George Gaynes is recorded with the occupation musical theatre actor. Recorded as television actor, film actor, singer and musical theatre actor.