Story highlights George Gaynes played the foster father on "Punky Brewster"

In the "Police Academy" movies, he was the commandant

(CNN) George Gaynes, the longtime character actor who gained fame late in life with his roles in the TV series "Punky Brewster" and the "Police Academy" movies, died Monday, according to the King County, Washington, Medical Examiner's Office. He was 98.

The cause of death was not disclosed. The New York Times reported that Gaynes died at his daughter's home in North Bend, Washington.

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Gaynes, known for his leading-man good looks and rich baritone voice (in fact, he came to America from Europe to sing opera), had been a Hollywood and stage fixture for decades, often playing authority figures such as doctors, professors and law-enforcement officials. He finally broke through in 1982's "Tootsie," in which he played John Van Horn, a lecherous actor (who portrayed, of course, a doctor in the film's fictional soap opera).

Two years later he expanded his audience with his appearances in "Police Academy" and "Punky Brewster."

George Gaynes, center, with G.W. Bailey and and George R. Robertson in "Police Academy."

In the former he played the buffoonish commandant, a role he would reprise in the franchise's other six films.

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