The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Police Squad!

“Police Squad!” created by the immortal comedy trio of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, debuted on ABC on March 4, 1982, and for four glorious weeks, everything was right with the world. ZAZ’s unique brand of slapstick, previously seen in the movies “The Kentucky Fried Movie” (which they wrote) and “Airplane!” (which they wrote and directed), was aimed at stone-faced police procedurals like “Dragnet,” resulting in a sublime spoof show that was too funny to live. Leslie Nielsen played the Joe Friday-like Lieutenant Frank Drebin, and he was a master at delivering ultra-silly dialogue with a completely straight face. I would recount some of the gags here, but they are too plentiful to list, and one should be able to discover them undisturbed. Critics loved the show, naturally.

After four weeks, however, “Police Squad!” was taken off the air, a victim of poor ratings. The following July, the final two episodes were burned off during the summer rerun season. The show, with only six episodes to its name, retained a passionate cult following, leading to the production of a feature film, “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” in 1988. The film, unlike the show, was a massive success, spawning two sequels in 1991 and 1994, and a remake in 2025. The success of “The Naked Gun” also spawned a sizeable wave of slapstick imitators throughout the 1990s. Some of them were okay.

Sadly, there will be no “Police Squad!” reunions anytime soon, unless you have a shovel. Leslie Nielsen passed away in 2010, and his many co-stars have also shuffled off their mortal coil since “Police Squad!” went off the air. Indeed, only one of the central stars of “Police Squad!” remains with us, and we’ll discuss him below.

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Peter Lupus (Norberg)

Norberg talking with Lietenant Drebin and Captain Hocken in Police Squad! – Paramount

The character of Norberg, played by actor and bodybuilder Peter Lupus, was only in four episodes of “Police Squad!” He was the serious-yet-lovable doofus, a silly character present to offset the po-faced delivery of Leslie Nielsen. He wasn’t a cartoon, but he did seem prone to join in the slapstick insanity around him.

Lupus already had a great deal of TV cred when he appeared on “Police Squad!,” having played the character of Willy Armitage on 161 episodes of “Mission: Impossible.” Before that, Lupus appeared in multiple beach party movies and peplum films, often credited as Rock Stevens. “Rock” starred in films like “Muscle Beach Party” (1964) and played the title character in “Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon” (also 1964). He played Goliath in “Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus” (1965) and Spartacus in “Challenge of the Gladiator” (also 1965). His size and musculature got him a lot of work. In 1974, Lupus gained some renown for a nude photo spread he posed for in Playgirl Magazine.

In the early 1980s, Lupus dopped in on many popular TV shows for one-off cameos, including “CHiPs,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Love Boat,” and “B.J. and the Bear.”

After “Police Squad!,” his acting career dropped off, and he appeared in several low-budget action movies that few have seen. Unfortunately, Lupus eventually joined an anti-immigration posse assembled by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, once called the World’s Worst Sheriff. That job was less funny than “Police Squad!” Lupus, regardless, holds several weightlifting records, including hoisting  77,560 pounds for a full 24 minutes and 50 seconds … when he was 75 years old.

Night of the Living Guest Stars

William Shatner at a dinner table, looking surprise in Police Squad! – Paramount

Every episode of “Police Squad!” featured a special guest star. During the opening credits, the announcer would announce the star’s name, and they would be seen in a brief vignette, presumably a preview of their scenes to come. The scenes never came, however, as the guest star was always killed in the vignette. Their screentime was never longer than 10 seconds.

In the episode “Revenge and Remorse” (or perhaps it’s “The Guilty Alibi”), the special guest is William Shatner. Shatner, playing himself, manages to avoid gunfire slung at him from off-screen assailants. He extracted a gun and fired back, killing his attacker. He then takes a sip of champagne to celebrate, only to find that it has been poisoned. William Shatner is a Canadian actor best known for his voice work in the animated portions of the 2001 comedy “Osmosis Jones.” He has two Emmys for his roles in “The Practice” and “Boston Legal.” As of this writing, Shatner is 94 years old and still going strong. He loves horses. He’s a horse guy.

In the episode “Ring of Fear” (or perhaps it’s “The Dangerous Assignment”), the special guest is actor/director Georg Stanford Brown, star of the ABC series “The Rookies.” He has had a long and prolific career, appearing in movies like “Bullitt” and “How to Steal a Million,” and way too many TV credits to list here. He was also a prolific director, helming episodes of “Charlie’s Angels,” “Hill Street Blues,” and even an episode of “Police Squad!” He won an Emmy for directing an episode of “Cagney & Lacey” starring his then-wife, Tyne Daly. His directorial credits are also plentiful. Brown has been retired from show business since 2015, but he is still with us at the age of 82.

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Read the original article on SlashFilm.