Posted by: Rebeca Surber
I’ve been a longstanding fan of the zany POLICE ACADEMY movies. Even with the same film structure and long standing jokes attached to each picture – from sending the ‘bad’ guys to the Blue Oyster Bar, Jones (Michael Winslow) creating potentially embarrassing sound effects and Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) charming everyone – I found an endearing quality to the silliness. No matter the film, after viewing I found myself with a different ‘favorite’ character but loved each one individually for what they brought to the table.
It is with great sadness that I announce the man who played Moses Hightower in all of the POLICE ACADEMY movies, Bubba Smith, has passed away at age 66. Playing in the NFL until a knee injury removed him from the sport, he turned to acting performing in beer commercials even though he did not drink alcohol. After deciding peddling booze was not for him, he got some acting gigs in assorted TV series and became a staple in the POLICE ACADEMY movies ever since the debut in 1984. He has had other films in his career outside the POLICE ACADEMY franchise but to me, he’ll forever be the florist turned cop named Hightower.
Source: LA Times
