Henry Hurst, the Canadian actor who played the chief of police and eventually the police commissioner in the first six Police Academy movies, has passed away. He was 89.
His relatives reported that Robertson passed away on Sunday at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
In addition, Robertson appeared in supporting roles in three movies that received best picture Oscar nominations: Airport (1970), Norma Rae (1979), and JFK (1991). He also played Vice President Dick Cheney in the ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11 (2006).
Robertson played Hurst in the 1994 Hugh Wilson-directed Police Academy film, which he continued to play in Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989). As the series progresses, his character becomes more understanding of the eccentric recruits headed by Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes).
The actor was in one episode of the 1997–98 Police Academy series at CTV but did not travel to Moscow for the 1994 segment.
On April 20, 1933, George Ross Robertson was born in Brampton, Ontario. He was a standout in football and hockey, and West Hill High School awarded him the Allan Hall Memorial Trophy in 1952. This award is given annually to an athlete who exemplifies good sportsmanship through their actions and teachings.
In 1959, he graduated from Columbia University in New York with a master’s in business before starting his acting career on stage. In the 1969 film Rosemary’s Baby, in which he had an uncredited role, he made his acting debut. In the 1973 film Paperback Hero, starring Keir Dullea, he played a minor league hockey coach.
Robertson performed many powerful characters throughout the course of his 60-year acting career. He played Adm. William Leahy in the 1995 Showtime telefilm Hiroshima. In 2003 TV movies, he played Arkansas Sen. William Fulbright in FX’s The Pentagon Papers, starring James Spader, and Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater in Showtime’s The Reagans, starring James Brolin and Judy Davis.
His list of credits on the big screen also includes Still Mine (1995), Murder at 1600 (1997), and National Lampoon’s Senior Trip (1995). (2012).
He received the Margaret Collier Award from the CBC in 1993 for his exceptional body of work.
Robertson trekked 328 kilometres across southwest France on foot to collect money for an orphanage in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and as Chief Hurst, he spoke to high school students across Canada as a UNICEF ambassador (he received the Danny Kaye UNICEF Canada Award in 1990).
Robertson trekked 328 kilometres across southwest France on foot to collect money for an orphanage in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and as Chief Hurst, he spoke to high school students across Canada as a UNICEF ambassador (he received the Danny Kaye UNICEF Canada Award in 1990).
In addition, he received a Gemini Award for Humanitarian of the Year in 2004 in recognition of his contributions to children in Canada and all across the world.
His last years were spent writing and drawing.
He is survived by Adele, his wife of 61 years (they met at Columbia); Sarah (and her husband, Steve); Ellen (Mitch); Julia and William; and Ariel, Gabe, Maddie, and Josh; stepgrandchildren.
