ACTOR

George Gaynes

1917 - 2016

Photo of George Gaynes

Icon of person George Gaynes

George Gaynes (born George Jongejans; May 16, 1917 – February 15, 2016) was a Dutch-American singer, actor, and voice artist. Born to Dutch and Russian-Finnish parents in the Grand Duchy of Finland of the Russian Empire, he served in the Royal Netherlands Navy during World War II, and subsequently emigrated to the United States, where he became a citizen and began his acting career on Broadway. Gaynes' most recognized roles in cinema were that of Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy series and as John Van Horn in the 1982 comedy film Tootsie. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of George Gaynes has received more than 2,234,742 page views. His biography is available in 36 different languages on Wikipedia. George Gaynes is the 530th most popular actor (down from 409th in 2019), the 30th most popular biography from Finland (down from 18th in 2019) and the most popular Finnish Actor.

George Gaynes is most famous for playing Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy films.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 62.83

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 36

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.27

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.16

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ACTORS

Among actors, George Gaynes ranks 530 out of 13,578. Before him are Claudia Mori, Desmond Llewelyn, Sean Bean, Mickey Rooney, Michèle Morgan, and Richard E. Grant. After him are Totò, John Cassavetes, Bette Midler, Leslie Howard, Mildred Harris, and Tom Waits.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1917, George Gaynes ranks 41. Before him are John Lee Hooker, Fernando Rey, Herbert A. Hauptman, Kiro Gligorov, John Kendrew, and Jane Wyman. After him are Leonid Hurwicz, Mel Ferrer, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia, Danielle Darrieux, Edward Norton Lorenz, and Jack Kirby. Among people deceased in 2016, George Gaynes ranks 52. Before him are René Angélil, George Martin, Michael Cimino, Michel Galabru, Ahmed Zewail, and Michèle Morgan. After him are Junko Tabei, Viktor Korchnoi, Ettore Scola, Harry Kroto, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, and Hans-Dietrich Genscher.

Others Born in 1917

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Others Deceased in 2016

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In Finland

Among people born in Finland, George Gaynes ranks 30 out of 751. Before him are Johan Gadolin (1760), Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865), Ragnar Granit (1900), Linus Torvalds (1969), Kyösti Kallio (1873), and Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804). After him are Otto Wille Kuusinen (1881), Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia (1917), Mauno Koivisto (1923), Mika Häkkinen (1968), Albert Edelfelt (1854), and Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg (1865).

Others born in Finland

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Among ACTORS In Finland

Among actors born in Finland, George Gaynes ranks 1. After him are Matti Pellonpää (1951), Kati Outinen (1961), Gustaf Molander (1888), Tapio Rautavaara (1915), Vesa-Matti Loiri (1945), Siri von Essen (1850), Peter Franzén (1971), Stina Ekblad (1954), Taina Elg (1930), Tauno Palo (1908), and Jasper Pääkkönen (1980).

Finnish born Actors

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Television and Movie Roles

Police Academy: Mission to Moscow
Commandant Lassard
The Russians seek help in dealing with the Mafia from the veterans of the Police Academy. They head off to Moscow, in order to find evidence against Konstantin Konali, who marketed a computer game that everyone in the world is playing.
Jun 9th 19944.6 / 10
Police Academy
Commandant Lassard
New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!
Mar 22nd 19846.684 / 10
Tootsie
John Van Horn
When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego – Dorothy Michaels – in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.
Dec 17th 19827.216 / 10