Los Angeles: American singer-actor George Gaynes, who portrayed an irritable foster parent on the '80s sitcom Punky Brewster and the confused commandant in seven Police Academy films, died on Monday in North Bend, Washington.

Gaynes earlier career saw him taking supporting parts in TV shows such as Columbo, Bonanza and Mission: Impossible. This was after a stint as a stage actor / opera singer both before and after World War II, both in the US and Europe, which included the role of Professor Henry Higgins in a touring company of My Fair Lady.

His role in Sydney Pollack's Tootsie saw him playing a soap opera actor, who developed a bit of affection for Dustin Hoffman's cross-dressing persona, it was his role as Commandant Lassard in the original Police Academy that audiences really latched onto.

Playing the confused yet lovable head of the infamous Police Academy crew, Gaynes saw the role through the various cast shake-ups that all seven entries would entail.

In 2003, Gaynes retired from acting, with his last role being that of Father Robert in the Ashton Kutcher / Brittany Murphy comedy Just Married. Not much was heard from him after that point.

Gaynes is survived by his wife, a daughter and granddaughter, as well as two great-granddaughters.