Bubba Smith

The Police Academy series of movies were one of my favourites when I was growing up so it was a shame to read that one Bubba Smith - who played Hightower in all but one of the films - has recently passed away.

I've written about Police Academy and its place in my childhood on this blog quite a few times (use the search facility at the top of the page) over the years and one of the things I have often brought up is the on again/off again rumours of a new Police Academy movie.

I hope they don't. Well, they can't now.

Can they?

David Graf, who played Tackleberry, died in 2001 so having two of the most iconic characters from the series missing won't feel right.

Yeah, I know Mahoney left after the fourth installment and they managed to have another three films but Tackleberry and Hightower were the foundation that kept the series going past Citizens On Patrol.

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Let's also not forget Bubba Smith originally made his name as a college and pro American footballer. The US press releases made sure this was part of their reporting but was lost on some of the UK stories that detailed his death.

He played for Michigan State in college ball and spent his NFL career at three teams (Baltimore Colts, Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers) before retiring in 1976.