According to his son Harry, the stand-up comedian, best known for playing police captain Ernie Mauser in the film, passed away at his home in Aventura, Florida.
- Sep 10, 2021
AceShowbiz - Art Metrano has passed away. The Brooklyn-born actor, best known for his role as police captain Ernie Mauser in "Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment" and "Police Academy 3: Back in Training", died of natural causes at the age of 84.
On Thursday, September 9, the stand-up comedian's son Harry told TMZ that his father passed away at his home in Aventura, Florida on Wednesday, September 8. Following his father's passing, Harry said that he didn't just lose his dad, but also his best friend and mentor. "He was and will always be the toughest man I know," Harry mourned over his father's death. He went on to say, "I have never met someone who has overcome more adversities than him."
In a separate statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Art's family explained, "Art would want all of his friends and family to continue to smile when they think of him." The late funnyman's family members continued to say that he wanted his loved ones "to laugh and continue on celebrating life."
Harry also recalled moments when his father fell off a ladder while working on the roof of his Los Angeles home, landing on his head and fracturing his first, second and seventh vertebrae in September 1989. The incident left him a quadriplegic. "He was at the peak of his career when that happened, and then it just stopped," he told the publication. "But he managed to enjoy life and overcome adversity."
While hospitalized for two months after his fall, Art himself opened up that he couldn't move his hands but his wife Rebecca brought him a voice-activated recorder. "In 1990, I had all the little cassettes transcribed. It actually made me cry. It was really cathartic for me," Art said in a 2001 interview.
Art is survived by his wife Jamie, his first wife Rebecca, his sons Harry, who is married to his wife Melissa, Zoe, Roxanne and Howard as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
