David Graf
Encyclopedia
Paul David Graf 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; they had two sons, Daniel and Sean.
, 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, Ohio
where he graduated in 1972. He attended graduate school
at Ohio State University
until 1975, when he dropped out to pursue his acting career.
The $25,000 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 sequel
s. 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" and also appeared on Night Court
. 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, 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
".
Graf was Ralph Brinker in the Disney Channel movie Brink!
in 1998.
Graf made a guest appearance in an episode of the short-lived ABC sitcom Teen Angel
as a camp leader for Steve Beauchamp's little sister Katie, in the 1997-1998 season. In 2000, he made an appearance on The Amanda Show
as a paramedic who accidentally swapped pagers with Amanda Bynes
.
Graf also had a small role in 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie
, portraying Alice's boyfriend Sam Franklin, the butcher.
In 1996 Graf also made a guest appearance in Promised Land
(which was a spinoff of Touched By An Angel
). He played the role of a grieving husband whose wife died while working for a company and he went there trying to find answers to her death.
Graf guest starred in several episodes of ABC's sitcom Step By Step in the 1990s. He also starred in the second episode of the third season of ABC's Home Improvement as angler Chuck Norwood. Some of his last acting performances were two guest appearances as Pentagon
staff member Colonel Chase in the series The West Wing ("The Drop-In
" and "The Portland Trip
") and as Jacques Douche in the Son of the Beach
TV series episode "Grand Prix".
on April 7, 2001 while attending a family wedding.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known for his role as Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry in the Police Academy series of films. He married Kathryn Graf
Kathryn Graf
Kathryn Graf is an American actress. She was married to actor David Graf from 1985 until his death in 2001.She starred with her husband in Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach and has also guest starred in ER and in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "A Man Alone".Kathryn Graf also wrote a...
in 1985; they had two sons, Daniel and Sean.
Early life
Graf was born in Lancaster, OhioLancaster, Ohio
Lancaster is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,780. It is located near the Hocking River, approximately southeast of Columbus, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fairfield County...
, and fell in love with the stage when he starred in his senior class play, then studied theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
at Otterbein College in Westerville
Westerville, Ohio
Westerville, once known as "The Dry Capital of the World", is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 35,318 at the 2000 census.-Early history:...
, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
where he graduated in 1972. He attended graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
until 1975, when he dropped out to pursue his acting career.
Acting career
Graf made his first television appearance as a contestant on the game showGame show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
The $25,000 Pyramid
Pyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
in December 1979, where he teamed with actress Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
. (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
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
, and The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
.
He made his film debut in 1981
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
when he played Gergley in the drama Four Friends
Four Friends (film)
Four Friends is a 1981 American drama film directed by Arthur Penn. The semi-autobiographical screenplay by Steve Tesich follows the path of the title characters from high school to college during the often turbulent 1960s and beyond.-Plot synopsis:...
. Graf later played the trigger-happy Cadet Eugene Tackleberry (later Sgt. Tackleberry) in the 1984
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
comedy Police Academy
Police Academy (film)
Police Academy is a 1984 comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, and starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall and G.W. Bailey. It grossed approximately $146 million worldwide and spawned six more films in the Police Academy series.-Plot:...
, and starred in each of six sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
s. In 1992, Graf returned to play a minor role as a police officer again for the comedy series Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
during its fourth season episode "The Ticket" and also appeared on Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
. He played Tackleberry for the final time in a guest appearance on the short-lived Police Academy: The Series
Police Academy: The Series
Police Academy: The Series is a syndicated 1997 television series spin-off from the Police Academy series of films. Michael Winslow was the only actor from the Police Academy films to have a recurring role on the show, although several of the film's cast made occasional guest appearances. The...
.
Graf also made notable guest appearances following his role in the Police Academy series, including a repeating part in The West Wing, several appearances in Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode ("The 37s") and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
. In the latter series, he played a Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
called Leskit in the fifth season episode "Soldiers of the Empire
Soldiers of the Empire (DS9 episode)
"Soldiers of the Empire" is an episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the twenty-first episode of the fifth season.Quick Overview: In this episode, Martok, Worf, and Dax go on a mission aboard a Klingon ship.-Plot:...
".
Graf was Ralph Brinker in the Disney Channel movie Brink!
Brink!
Brink! is a 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie set in the backdrop of casual inline skating.-Plot:Andy "Brink" Brinker and his in-line skating crew--Peter, Jordy, and Gabriella--who call themselves "Soul-Skaters" , clash with a group of sponsored skaters, Team X-Bladz--led by Val--with whom they...
in 1998.
Graf made a guest appearance in an episode of the short-lived ABC sitcom Teen Angel
Teen Angel
Teen Angel may refer to:*Teen Angel , the 1959 song performed by Mark Dinning*Teen Angel, a one-scene character in the musical Grease*Teen Angel , the 1989, short-lived drama starring Jason Priestley...
as a camp leader for Steve Beauchamp's little sister Katie, in the 1997-1998 season. In 2000, he made an appearance on The Amanda Show
The Amanda Show
The Amanda Show is an American live-action sketch comedy and variety show that aired on Nickelodeon from November 6, 1999 to September 21, 2002. It starred Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell, and Nancy Sullivan, along with several performing artists who came and left at different points, such as John Kassir,...
as a paramedic who accidentally swapped pagers with Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Laura Bynes is an American actress, comedian, singer, and fashion designer. Bynes appeared in several successful television series, such as All That and The Amanda Show, on Nickelodeon in the mid to late 1990s and early 2000s, and in 2002, she starred in the TV series, What I Like About You...
.
Graf also had a small role in 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie
The Brady Bunch Movie
The Brady Bunch Movie is a 1995 American comedy film based on the 1969–1974 television series The Brady Bunch.The film features all the original regular characters, all played by new actors...
, portraying Alice's boyfriend Sam Franklin, the butcher.
In 1996 Graf also made a guest appearance in Promised Land
Promised Land (1996 TV series)
Promised Land is an American drama series which aired on CBS from 1996 to 1999. It was a spin-off from another series, Touched by an Angel.-Plot:...
(which was a spinoff of Touched By An Angel
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...
). He played the role of a grieving husband whose wife died while working for a company and he went there trying to find answers to her death.
Graf guest starred in several episodes of ABC's sitcom Step By Step in the 1990s. He also starred in the second episode of the third season of ABC's Home Improvement as angler Chuck Norwood. Some of his last acting performances were two guest appearances as Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
staff member Colonel Chase in the series The West Wing ("The Drop-In
The Drop-In
-Plot:Leo tries to convince President Bartlet of the importance of supporting a missile defense plan. The episode begins with an important test where all of the technical systems work but the interceptor system misses the target missile--by 137 miles...
" and "The Portland Trip
The Portland Trip
-Plot:C.J. is made to join the President on a trip to Portland, Oregon after making a joke about Notre Dame. The President will be giving a speech on education when they arrive, and hopes to announce a major initiative, though he doesn't have a specific idea. Sam faces a serious bout of writers'...
") and as Jacques Douche in the Son of the Beach
Son of the Beach
Son of the Beach is an American sitcom that aired from 2000 to 2002 on the FX network. The series was a spoof of Baywatch, with much of the comedy based on sexual jokes, innuendo and the like. The studly David Hasselhoff character is instead an average, pot-bellied, out-of-shape bald man but...
TV series episode "Grand Prix".
Death
Graf died of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on April 7, 2001 while attending a family wedding.