Police Academy/Trivia

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Actor Existence Failure: Unfortunately, Tackleberry won't be returning for the eighth movie.
    • Nor will Hightower.
    • Or House.
  • Franchise Killer: Mission to Moscow.
  • Hey, It's That Guy!: One of the skateboarders in the fourth film is played by Tony Hawk.
    • In the Animated Series, we've got Cree Summer 's father Don Francks as House and Proctor. (The voice actors were all Canadian).
  • Life Imitates Art:
    • In the first film, the cadets are told they are to withdraw from the area because the riot is uncontrollable, causing it to become even worse. In 1991, LAPD did the same thing: pulling out of a liquor store looting at Florence Boulevard and Normandie Avenue in south central LA that escalated into assaulting passing motorists (done in the wake of the acquittal of the officers involved in the Rodney King beating), which led to the LA Riots.
    • In the first film, Hightower is kicked out of the academy after standing up for Hooks by over tipping a police car with Copeland in it. Ten years later, this scene was mirrored by Bubba Smith refusing to reprise his role as Hightower in Mission to Moscow after the filmmakers told him they did not have any plans to bring back Marion Ramsey as Hooks.
  • Throw It In:
    • Lt. Callahan's singing of "Ride of the Valkryies" during the final chase scene in Assignment Miami Beach was improvised by Leslie Eaterbrook, and caused director Alan Myerson to laugh so hard, he nearly fell off his boat.
    • Throughout City Under Siege, the Mayor constantly forgets his words and stumbles over his lines. This was not in the script, but a character trait improvised by Kenneth Mars.
  • Troubled Production:
    • During filming of Their First Assignment, some of the original cast members allegedly complained about losing screen time to the newer cast members, causing shooting to be shut down temporarily and a mediator being brought in to mellow out the cast.
    • Filming of Assignment Miami Beach was temporarily suspended due to Hurricane Floyd moving through Southern Florida in October 1987. While filming Proctor's scene atop the swaying tree outside Harris' office, strong winds picked up, causing the tree to sway more than planned. With news of the hurricane fast approaching, the cast and crew were then sent home for their safety until the dangerous weather conditions had subsided.
  • What Could Have Been: Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton, and Judge Reinhold all audtioned for the role of Mahoney before Steve Guttenberg managed to land it.
    • The role of Commandant Lassard was originally written for Robert Conrad, who turned down the part only to regret it later.
    • If Steve Guttenberg had agreed to appear in Assignment Miami Beach, his character Mahoney would have been promoted to Lieutenant along with Hightower at the end of the film.