The news was announced by his son, Robert Van Norden, who revealed that the actor died peacefully on Thursday with his wife, Wendy, by his side.
Peter Van Norden Built a Career That Extended Far Beyond ‘Police Academy 2’
Although moviegoers may best remember Van Norden as the disheveled Officer Vinnie Schtulman opposite Steve Guttenberg in the 1985 comedy “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment,” his career covered a much broader range of projects. He also appeared in films including “The Accused,” “The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear,” and Stephen King’s television miniseries “The Stand,” establishing himself as one of Hollywood’s dependable character actors throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Source: IMDb
Robert Van Norden shared the news of his father’s passing in an Instagram post, describing him as “a terrific father, husband, friend, and a greatly respected member of the theater community.”
Born in New York City on December 16, 1950, Van Norden graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University before pursuing an acting career. He accumulated an extensive list of film and television credits that included appearances on “Cheers,” “St. Elsewhere,” “Family Ties,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “Matlock,” among other titles.
His stage résumé spanned five decades and featured productions of Shakespeare, contemporary dramas, and musicals at venues across the United States. Among his many notable performances, he portrayed Henry Kissinger in multiple productions of “Nixon’s Nixon,” played Scrooge in several stagings of “A Christmas Carol,” and became the first American actor to play King Charles in the stage production of “King Charles III.” His final credited theater role came in 2025’s “Corktown ’39,” closing a career that left its mark on both the stage and the screen.
