The actor and comedian of the Art Metrano Police Academy has died at the age of 84.
Metrano died of natural causes yesterday at his home in Aventura, Florida, according to Deadline.
He was known to play Officer Ernie Mauser in two Police Academy films, but his career derailed in the late 1980s after a serious domestic accident left him partially paralyzed.
Sad: Actor Art Metrano died of natural causes yesterday at his home in Aventura, Florida. He was 84 years old
“Yesterday I lost my best friend, my mentor, my father,” Metrano’s son Harry Metrano posted on Instagram today.
He was and will always be the toughest man I know. I have never met anyone who has overcome more adversity than him.
“He has fought and won so much over the years that I always considered him indestructible, but the truth is we don’t live forever on earth, but a person’s spirit can live forever within you.”
Metrano ended his emotional post with a message addressed to his late father.
“Dad, you will always be a part of me and I will continue to live your legacy,” he wrote. “When someone came to the date,‘ legends never die, ’I’m sure they were talking about your father.
Saying goodbye: “Yesterday I lost my best friend, my mentor, my father,” Metrano’s son Harry Metrano posted on Instagram today.
“He has fought and won so much over the years that I always considered him indestructible, but the truth is that we do not live forever on earth, but the spirit of a person can live forever within you.
Staying Mobile: Harry included some recent photos of Art moving on crutches and in a wheelchair
‘I love you and I miss you so much! One day we will see each other again. Rest in paradise. Now you are my guardian angel ❤️ ”, he concluded.
Harry included some recent photos of his father, including one of the disguised father-son duos.
The two shared a laugh with another candid photo and Art held a young woman in his lap as he sat in the wheelchair with a sweet image.
Metrano’s career began in the late 1960s when he appeared on television programs such as Ironside, Mannix, The Mod Squad and Bewitched, where he appeared in several episodes.
Her first high-profile film role was in Sydney Pollack’s 1969 Depression-era classic drama They Shoot Horses, Don’t They ?, starring Jane Fonda.
Prestigious career: Metrano gained prominence with roles in The Mod Squad and Bewitched in the late 1960s, and his first major film role was They Shoot Horses, Don’t They ?; illustrated with Robert Guillaume in Benson in 1979
In addition to acting, Metrano worked as a standing comedian.
A 1970 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson raised his profile after he left the host on points with a routine in which he played a terrible magician whose magic tricks could not fool anyone.
Although Metrano was supposed to leave the stage after the short routine, he managed to get Carson’s long-awaited wave to sit next to him.
I grabbed my bow and there was Johnny pointing at me at his desk. I said, “Holy s ***, I’m going to sit next to Johnny!” The actor said in a 2015 interview with Kliph Nesteroff. It was a fantastic time. He really liked my car. He was an amateur magician and he loved magic of all kinds. So we talked about it and then it came back to me several times.
He would continue to perform the routine several times, and even inspired a joke in the animated comedy series Family Guy that led to a lawsuit for which he received what he described as “a very, very nice deal.” .
The routine helped Metrano land a role as a nightclub animator in Elaine May’s 1972 comedy classic The Heartbreak Kid, starring the late Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd and Jeannie Berlin.
He continued to appear on popular television shows throughout the decade, including All In The Family, Barney Miller, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Starsky & Hutch and The Incredible Hulk.
Make them laugh: Metrano’s work as a standing comedian gained momentum after leaving Johnny Carson ready during a 1970 Tonight Show appearance as a terrible magician whose tricks couldn’t fool anyone; seen in 1984 in Transitions
Metrano was best known as the suffering Lieutenant Mauser, who was often the ass of physical comedy, in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) and Police Academy 3: Back In Training (1986).
But Metrano’s career came to a halt in that moment of fame when he was injured in a serious fall at his Los Angeles home.
On September 17, 1989, he fell from a ladder while working outside his home.
During the fall he hit his head and broke three different vertebrae, leaving him with a quadriplegic.
Metrano regained a remarkable recovery and regained the use of his arms and legs. He was able to walk again, albeit only for short distances and with the help of crutches.
In 1989 he starred in the one-man show Metrano’s Accidental Comedy, which focused on his injuries and detailed his recovery.
Miraculous recovery: Metrano became paraplegic in 1989 after falling down a ladder and breaking three vertebrae. He later regained the use of his arms and legs, although he used mainly a wheelchair; seen in 1986 in Las Vegas
Metrano would also look back on his career in the 1994 memoir Twice Blessed.
The comic’s post-injury roles included parts of How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Chicago Hope and Party Of Five (both in 1997).
Metrano is survived by his wife Jamie, as well as his four children
He is survived by his wife Jamie, sons Harry and Howard, and daughters Zoe and Roxanne, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.