Photo: Towpilot / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
David Graf basically was Tackleberry, the trigger-happy, baby-faced maniac who treated every traffic stop like a SWAT raid, and he committed to that character across the 'Police Academy' movies with total deadpan glee. It's easy to underrate broad comedy like that, but landing a cartoonish role and keeping it funny for over a decade takes real timing, and he had it. Beyond the franchise he was a dependable character actor sprinkled across countless TV shows. He died far too young at 50, and watching those movies now, his gung-ho energy is exactly the kind of thing you can't fake.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
Overview
David Graf (April 16, 1950 - April 7, 2001) was an American actor from Lancaster, Ohio. He is best known for playing the gun-obsessed Sergeant Eugene Tackleberry in the 'Police Academy' film series. A prolific character actor, he made numerous guest appearances on television series and also worked as a voice actor. He died of a heart attack in 2001, nine days before his 51st birthday.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- David Graf
- Name (Japanese)
- デヴィッド・グラフ
- Reading
- でゔぃっど・ぐらふ
- Born
- April 16, 1950 – April 7, 2001
- Origin
- Zanesville, Ohio, United States
- Height
- 191 cm
- Occupation
- Television actor / Film actor / Voice actor / Actor
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Tiger
2. Background
- University
- Ohio State University
3. Links
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was David Graf born?
David Graf was born on April 16, 1950.
When did David Graf die?
David Graf died on April 7, 2001, aged 50.
Where was David Graf from?
David Graf was from Zanesville, Ohio, United States.
What did David Graf do?
David Graf worked as Television actor, Film actor, Voice actor, Actor.
How tall was David Graf?
David Graf was 191 cm tall.
Where did David Graf study?
David Graf attended Ohio State University.
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