David Graf
David Graf | |
|---|---|
 David Graf with Stockholm City Hall in background | |
| Spouse | Kathryn Graf (1985-2001) |
Paul David Graf (April 16, 1950 – April 7, 2001) was an American actor, best known for his role as Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry in the Police Academy series of films. He married Kathryn Graf in 1985.
He died of a heart attack at a family wedding in Phoenix, Arizona on April 7, 2001, nine days before his 51st birthday. His father and great grandfather also died of sudden heart attacks at the age of 51. He was survived by his wife, and his two sons - Daniel and Sean.
Early life
Graf was born in Lancaster, Ohio, and fell in love with the stage when he starred in his senior class play, then studied theatre at Otterbein College in Westerville, a suburb of Columbus where he graduated in 1972. He attended graduate school at Ohio State University until 1975, when he dropped out to pursue his acting career.
Acting career
Graf made his first television appearance on the game show The $20,000 Pyramid in December 1979, where he teamed with actress Patty Duke. (He would later appear on subsequent versions of the show as a celebrity guest, twice with Duke.) As a struggling actor in the early 1980s, he also took small roles in popular sitcoms, including M*A*S*H, The Dukes of Hazzard, and The A-Team.
He made his film debut in 1981 when he played Gergley in the drama Four Friends. Graf later played the trigger-happy Cadet Eugene Tackleberry (later Sgt. Tackleberry) in the 1984 comedy Police Academy, and starred in each of six sequels. In 1992, Graf returned to play a minor role as a police officer again for the comedy series, Seinfeld, during its fourth season episode, The Ticket. He played Tackleberry for the final time in a guest appearance on the short-lived Police Academy: The Series.
Graf also made notable guest appearances following his role in the Police Academy series, including a repeating part in The West Wing, and several appearances in Star Trek: Voyager episode (The 37s) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In the latter series, he played a Klingon called Leskit in the fifth season episode "Soldiers of the Empire". He had a guest appearance on Night Court. In 2000, he made an appearance on "The Amanda Show" as a paramedic who accidentally swapped pagers with Amanda Bynes.
Death & Funeral
His funeral was open casket and took place at Mulberry St. First Methodist Church in Lancaster, OH.