Peter Van Norden, a character actor whose four-decade career spanned comedy franchises, prestige drama and Broadway, died Thursday at a Southern California hospice facility. He was 75.
His wife, Wendy, was at his side when he died and told TMZ he had been dealing with several health conditions. His son, Robert, confirmed the death in an Instagram post, writing that his father was “a terrific father, husband, friend, and a greatly respected member of the theater community.”
Born Dec. 16, 1950, in New York City, Van Norden graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University before relocating to Los Angeles in the 1970s. He made his screen debut in the 1979 comedy “Squeeze Play!” and went on to work with Troma Entertainment co-founder Lloyd Kaufman on films including “Waitress!”
Van Norden found his widest recognition in 1985’s “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment,” playing Officer Vinnie Schtulman, the first partner to Steve Guttenberg’s Carey Mahoney. He returned to broad comedy in 1991’s “The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear,” playing a fictionalized version of White House chief of staff John Sununu. He also showed a capacity for drama, appearing as attorney Paulsen in Jonathan Kaplan’s 1988 film “The Accused,” which won Jodie Foster her first Academy Award, and as Ralph Brentner in the 1994 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Stand,” alongside Gary Sinise and Ray Walston.
His television credits stretched across several decades of network staples, including “Cheers,” “Hill Street Blues,” “St. Elsewhere,” “L.A. Law,” “Matlock,” “ER,” “Family Matters” and, more recently, “9-1-1.”
Beyond the screen, Van Norden built an extensive stage career in Broadway, off-Broadway and regional productions, appearing in works including “St. Joan,” “Macbeth” and “Romeo and Juliet.” He remained active in the theater community in his later years, participating last August in a workshop breakdown of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” through The Rehearsal Room, an actors’ training group.
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Van Norden is survived by his wife, Wendy, and son, Robert.
