Marion Ramsey (Hooks from Police Academy) dead at 73
#1
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Marion Ramsey (Hooks from Police Academy) dead at 73
https://deadline.com/2021/01/marion-...73-1234666700/
RIP
The Hooks character was really the only thing notable that I'm aware of that she did. I never followed her career after that.
Marion Ramsey, an actress and singer who appeared in the 1978 hit Broadway show Eubie! but is best known for her portrayal of the sweet, squeaky-voiced Officer Laverne Hooks in the Police Academy franchise, died today in her Los Angeles home. She was 73.
Her death was announced by her management team at Roger Paul Inc. A cause has not been determined, though the actress had been ill in recent days.
Born in Philadelphia, Ramsey began her show business career on the stage, appearing in both the original Broadway and subsequent touring productions of Hello, Dolly! and, in 1974, starred opposite Bette Davis in the now-legendary flop musical Miss Moffat, an adaption of Davis’ classic 1945 film The Corn is Green. Directed by Josh Logan, the Broadway-bound musical closed during out-of-town tryouts.
Ramsey’s stage career rebounded four years later with Eubie!, the lauded biographical musical about jazz pianist Eubie Blake starring Gregory and Maurice Hines.
By the time Eubie! opened, Ramsey had started what would be a long career in TV and film, beginning with a 1976 guest appearance on sitcom The Jeffersons. That same year she became a regular on the Bill Cosby-hosted sketch comedy series Cos.
Her signature role came in 1984 with Police Academy, the Airplane!-like comedy film starring Steve Guttenberg. As the mild-mannered Officer Laverne Hooks, Ramsey made good use of her high-pitched, whispery voice, a vocal delivery that contrasted with the character’s occasional high-volume outbursts. The hit film was followed by five sequels over the next five years, with Ramsey appearing in each one. She briefly reprised the role in the 1993 comedy video John Virgo: Playing for Laughs and, as a voice actress, in a 2006 episode of the animated Robot Chicken.
Other TV credits include the 1992 animated series The Addams Family. In 2015 and 2016, she reunited with Guttenberg in the campy Syfy TV movies Lavalantula and its sequel 2 Lava 2 Lantula! A staunch AIDS/HIV awareness advocate, Ramsey performed in Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Divas Simply Singing, an annual fundraising event in Los Angeles.
Ramsey is survived by a brother.
Her death was announced by her management team at Roger Paul Inc. A cause has not been determined, though the actress had been ill in recent days.
Born in Philadelphia, Ramsey began her show business career on the stage, appearing in both the original Broadway and subsequent touring productions of Hello, Dolly! and, in 1974, starred opposite Bette Davis in the now-legendary flop musical Miss Moffat, an adaption of Davis’ classic 1945 film The Corn is Green. Directed by Josh Logan, the Broadway-bound musical closed during out-of-town tryouts.
Ramsey’s stage career rebounded four years later with Eubie!, the lauded biographical musical about jazz pianist Eubie Blake starring Gregory and Maurice Hines.
By the time Eubie! opened, Ramsey had started what would be a long career in TV and film, beginning with a 1976 guest appearance on sitcom The Jeffersons. That same year she became a regular on the Bill Cosby-hosted sketch comedy series Cos.
Her signature role came in 1984 with Police Academy, the Airplane!-like comedy film starring Steve Guttenberg. As the mild-mannered Officer Laverne Hooks, Ramsey made good use of her high-pitched, whispery voice, a vocal delivery that contrasted with the character’s occasional high-volume outbursts. The hit film was followed by five sequels over the next five years, with Ramsey appearing in each one. She briefly reprised the role in the 1993 comedy video John Virgo: Playing for Laughs and, as a voice actress, in a 2006 episode of the animated Robot Chicken.
Other TV credits include the 1992 animated series The Addams Family. In 2015 and 2016, she reunited with Guttenberg in the campy Syfy TV movies Lavalantula and its sequel 2 Lava 2 Lantula! A staunch AIDS/HIV awareness advocate, Ramsey performed in Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Divas Simply Singing, an annual fundraising event in Los Angeles.
Ramsey is survived by a brother.
RIP
The Hooks character was really the only thing notable that I'm aware of that she did. I never followed her career after that.
#2
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Marion Ramsey (Hooks from Police Academy) dead at 73
Sad. I enjoyed her in Police Academy. It was great when she found her voice and screamed at the suspect. Which, if I remember correctly, became her schtick in the sequels.
I don’t think I’ve seen her in anything else.
I don’t think I’ve seen her in anything else.
#3
Re: Marion Ramsey (Hooks from Police Academy) dead at 73
Thank you for posting her picture many of these threads believe we know what the person looks like many times I don't.
RIP sadly I do not recall seeing her in anything else either.
RIP sadly I do not recall seeing her in anything else either.
#4
Re: Marion Ramsey (Hooks from Police Academy) dead at 73
In the extra Accidental Heroes: The Best of... Marion Ramsey and Lance Kinsey (Proctor) reminisce about the punch that she really landed on him in Police Academy 2. Lance said that Hooks is the mousy-voiced lion that roared.
RIP Marion Ramsey
#5
Re: Marion Ramsey (Hooks from Police Academy) dead at 73
Me neither, yet the one role I know her from is as memorial to me as performances by actors I've seen in multiple things over decades. I'm old enough to recognize those aren't great movies, but she is great in them.