Police Academy actor Peter Van Norden dies at 75

Peter Van Norden, whose supporting roles in Police Academy 2 and The Naked Gun 2½ made him familiar to audiences raised on 1980s and 1990s studio comedies, died Thursday in Southern California at 75. His son, Robert Van Norden, announced the death. His wife, Wendy Van Norden, was with him.

He spent much of his screen career in the kind of character parts that gave those films their texture. In Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, he played Officer Vinnie Schtulman, a role that put him inside one of the decade’s most durable comedy franchises. He also appeared in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, alongside the broad, fast-paced spoof style that defined so much studio comedy in that era.

Van Norden’s film and television work extended beyond slapstick. He appeared in The Accused and in The Stand, the Stephen King miniseries, where he portrayed Ralph Brentner. Those credits helped keep him visible across very different corners of popular culture, from theatrical comedy to prestige drama to network miniseries, at a time when supporting actors could become fixed reference points for viewers even when they were not headliners.

Reports said he died after battling multiple health conditions in a Southern California hospice facility. Born in New York City on December 16, 1950, Van Norden would have turned 76 in December. He is survived by Wendy and their son Robert.

His screen work was only one part of a longer career. Broadway records show stage credits dating back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Romeo and Juliet, Saint Joan, The Inspector General, Macbeth and Little Johnny Jones. That range reflected the ecosystem that produced many of the era’s most recognizable supporting performers, actors who could move between Shakespeare, Broadway and studio comedies and still remain instantly identifiable to moviegoers.