Marion Ramsey, best known for her role as the gentle, humble officer Laverne Hooks in the Police Academy franchise, died Thursday at her home in Los Angeles, as Variety reports. She was 73. The cause of death has not yet been revealed, but a representative of Ramsey’s management agency said the actress was recently ill.
Ramsey began her professional career in theater. She appeared in the 1964 Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! and its touring versions, and in 1974 she starred with Bette Davis in Miss Moffat. In 1978, she starred in the biographical musical Broadway Eubie!, which showcased the work of jazz pianist Eubie Blake.
Along with her theatrical awards, she has made TV appearances in, among others, The Jeffersons and played a recurring role in sketch comedy series Cos. But it was her run-up to the Eighties that portrayed the timid Officer Hooks, who later became Sgt. Hooks, that she became especially famous through the six films of the franchise.
Her Hooks character was first seen as a cadet in the first in 1984 Police Academy. Ramsey said she originally acquired the role because of some inspiration from Michael Jackson, whom she met while working Small shop of horrors the night before her film audition. “I imitated Michael Jackson,” she said, adding that the character described the character with a little voice. “So I based the voice on him, but all the ways … the shyness, that’s what I made up.”
After leaving the franchise, which released another film and two series after her departure, she appeared in several TV shows, including one-off roles in MacGyver, Beverly Hills, 90210 and The babysitter. Later, she repeated her role as Hooks in 2006 Robot Chickens. In 2015’s Lavalantula and 2016’s 2 Lava 2 Lantula!, The Ramsey reunited with Police Academy cast Steve Guttenberg and Michael Winslow.