Hollywood has lost one of those actors whose face could make an entire movie feel instantly familiar. Peter Van Norden, the veteran performer remembered by millions for Police Academy 2, The Naked Gun 2 1/2 and Stephen King’s The Stand, has died at 75. His son, Robert, announced the loss this week and said his father passed peacefully with his wife, Wendy, beside him. BREAKING Peter Van Norden, the actor who appeared in the Police Academy and Naked Gun films, has died. He was 75. Van Norden’s son, Robert, announced that his father died on Thursday. “Peter passed away peacefully last night with his wife, Wendy, at his side,” Robert wrote… pic.twitter.com/bxZktjMx0E — Dirt Sheet Radio (@DirtSheetRadio) July 11, 2026 FOX Local reported that Wendy told TMZ her husband died peacefully at a hospice facility in Southern California after dealing with several health conditions, providing one of the first direct family accounts of his final days. No specific cause of death was announced. Van Norden is survived by Wendy and Robert, a film producer. The family description feels especially fitting for a man whose colleagues remembered both his performances and the way he treated people. Director Preston Peterson recalled an actor who endured punishing cold-weather shoots, elevated a small independent production and still showed up ready to work with a smile. Robert described his father as a great husband, friend and dad, as well as a deeply respected member of the theater community. That was Van Norden’s career in miniature: never too big for the room, yet very often the person making the room better. A short video remembrance captures the remarkable range of the work he left behind: 'Police Academy' actor Peter Van Norden has d~ed at 75. The veteran performer was known for Police Academy 2, The Accused, The Naked Gun 2½, and a long career in television and theater. #breakingnews #rip pic.twitter.com/KGxoAsizdj — Jill Winter (@JillWinterMusic) July 11, 2026 Van Norden played Officer Vinnie Schtulman in 1985’s Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, joining Steve Guttenberg’s Carey Mahoney in the first sequel to the comedy smash. Six years later, he portrayed former White House Chief of Staff John Sununu in The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear. He also appeared in the Oscar-nominated drama The Accused and played Ralph Brentner in the 1994 television adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand. Those films made him recognizable. They were nowhere close to the whole story. Van Norden’s own professional resume stretches across more than four decades of film, television and theater. His television credits included Cheers, TJ Hooker, Hill Street Blues, Matlock, Saint Elsewhere, Family Ties, ER, Nash Bridges, 9-1-1 and recurring appearances on Murder, She Wrote and LA Law. Then there was the stage, where his career became even richer. Van Norden’s Broadway work included St. Joan, Macbeth, Little Johnny Jones, Romeo and Juliet and The Inspector General. Off-Broadway, he performed in productions featuring Kevin Kline, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Sam Waterston. His regional credits ranged from King Charles III and Ben Franklin to Shylock, Scrooge and Don Quixote. The resume records major acting awards and nominations across comedy, drama and musical theater, showing just how little of his range could fit inside one familiar movie role. He kept doing serious theater long after Hollywood had given him the kind of credits most actors would happily coast on. The Los Angeles Times remembered Van Norden as one of the city’s most accomplished stage actors, a performer whose command of language and emotional intelligence elevated productions even when he was not playing the lead. The paper noted that he remained active almost to the end. Recent roles included Polonius and the gravedigger in a 2022 production of Hamlet, Alonso and later Prospero in separate stagings of The Tempest, and John Tarleton in George Bernard Shaw’s Misalliance. In 2024, he received the Michael McCarty Recognition Award honoring Los Angeles Actors’ Equity members who built their lives in theater. He had also been slated to appear in an upcoming production of Shaw’s Heartbreak House, in a role he had long hoped to play. LA Theatre Works called him a stage icon and a longtime friend, remembering the recordings he made for the organization and the China tour he joined for Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers. We're saddened to say farewell to Peter van Norden, a stage icon and a longtime friend. In addition to his recordings for LATW, he joined our groundbreaking China tour of 'Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers'. Thanks for your amazing work Peter. We will miss you. pic.twitter.com/JV8RItvq1k — LATheatreWorks (@LATheatreWorks) July 10, 2026 There is something deeply admirable about an actor who could move from a giant studio comedy to Shakespeare, from a television guest role to a demanding stage tour, and treat all of it as work worth doing well. The Working Actor’s Journey featured Van Norden in an episode devoted to vulnerability and the idea that work creates more work. The series was built to let younger performers learn directly from actors who had survived the industry’s setbacks and kept practicing their craft for decades. Van Norden also returned for scene work involving Shakespeare and Harold Pinter, and joined a special tribute to actor Philip Bosco. His archive there is less a celebrity victory lap than a working actor still studying, teaching and stretching after decades in the business. That philosophy appears to have been more than an interview theme. It was the shape of his life. Peter Van Norden’s name did not top every poster. It did not have to. For movie fans, television viewers and generations of theatergoers, he was the kind of actor who made every title better. Rest in peace. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here. The post BREAKING: “Police Academy” And “Naked Gun” Star Dead At 75 appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.