George William Bailey (born August 27, 1944) is an American actor. Although he appeared in many dramatic roles, he may be best remembered for his “crusty” comedic characters such as Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in M*A*S*H (TV series 1979–1983); Lieutenant/Captain Thaddeus Harris in the Police Academy films (1984–1994), and Captain Felix Maxwell in Mannequin (1987). He played the role of Detective Lieutenant Louie Provenza on TNT’s television crime drama The Closer, and its spinoff series Major Crimes, from 2005 to 2018.
Biography
Bailey was born in Port Arthur, Texas. He went to Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur with Janis Joplin and Jimmy Johnson. He started college at Lamar University in nearby Beaumont and transferred to Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
Bailey left college and spent the mid-1960s working at local theater companies before moving to California in the mid-1970s. He broke into television with a small recurring role as a crime scene police officer on the short-lived detective show Harry O. He then landed one-shot episodic roles on television programs of the day such as Starsky and Hutch and Charlie’s Angels. His film debut was in A Force of One (1979), an early Chuck Norris film. By the late 1970s, he got his breakout role as the conniving, cigar-chomping goldbricker Sgt. Luther Rizzo in M*A*S*H. He also appeared as Tom Berenger’s sidekick in Rustler’s Rhapsody (1985).
He returned to college in 1993, and graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas in May 1993, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Theatre. For the 1999–2000 school year, he was the Artist-in-Residence.
In the late 1990s, he starred in three of the seventeen television films and miniseries in the Bible Collection series produced for the TNT television network, Solomon (1997), Jesus (1999), and Paul (2000).
Since 2001, Bailey has served as the Executive Director of the Sunshine Kids Foundation, which provides trips and activities for hundreds of young cancer patients annually. He first volunteered with the organization after his goddaughter was diagnosed with leukemia.
Filmography
Charlie’s Angels (1976, S1 E10: “Consenting Adults”) – Mumford
How The West Was Won (1977, S1 E2: “Erika”) – Ivie
CHiPs (1978, TV Series) – Drunk Driver
Starsky & Hutch (1976-1978) – Hotel Clerk / Slade
Soap (1978, TV Series) – The Hobo
Laverne & Shirley (1979, S4 E23: “There’s a Spy in My Beer”) – Rocko
A Force of One (1979) – Erwin
Lou Grant (1979) – Water Man / Arlo Karp
Happy Days (1979, S7 E9: “Joanie Busts Out”) – Jack Whitman
The French Atlantic Affair (1979, TV Mini-Series) – Jake (uncredited)
Angie (1979, S2 E11: “Mary, Mary Marries”)
Benson (1979–1980) – Bartender / Gus
Palmerstown, U.S.A. (1980, S1 E5: “The Black Travelers: II”)
Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980, TV Series) – Holfeld
Flo (1980–1981) – Lonnie Castleberry / Bull
Murder in Texas (1981, TV film) – Richard ‘Racehorse’ Haynes
Bitter Harvest (1981, TV film) – Lazlo
Fog (1981, TV film) – Mr. Carrion
Hardcase (1981, TV film) – Paul Morgan
The Capture of Grizzly Adams (1982, TV film) – Tom Quigley
M*A*S*H (1979–1983, TV Series) – Sergeant Luther Rizzo / The G.I.
St. Elsewhere (1982-1983, TV Series) – Dr. Hugh Beale
Murder, She Wrote (1984) – Lt. Thibodeau
Simon & Simon (1984) – Police Chief Don Potter / Dr. Kyle Stepney – Surgery
Police Academy (1984) – Lt. Thaddeus Harris
Earthlings (1984, TV Series) – Bobo
Runaway (1984) – Chief
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) – Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Rustlers’ Rhapsody (1985) – Peter
Warning Sign (1985) – Tom Schmidt
Short Circuit (1986) – Captain Skroeder
Mannequin (1987) – Felix
Burglar (1987) – Ray Kirschman
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987) – Capt. Thaddeus Harris
Hawaiian Dream (1987) – Captain Pierce
Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988) – Capt. Thaddeus Harris
War and Remembrance (1988, TV Series) – Cmdr. Jim Grigg
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989) – Capt. Thaddeus Harris
The Gifted One (1989, TV film) – Dr. Winslow
Love and Lies (1990, TV film) – Sgt. Halsey
Q&A (1990) – Bartender (uncredited)
Doublecrossed (1991) – Camp
Under Cover (1991, TV Series) – Director Waugh
Write to Kill (1991) – Dean Sutton
A Mother’s Justice (1991, TV film) – Joe Comminger
Before the Storm (1991, TV film) – Director Waugh
Bed of Lies (1992, TV film) – Zeke Zbranek
Dinosaurs (1992, S2 E20: “Nuts to War: Part 2”) – Sarge
An American Story – The Battle of Athens (1992, TV film) – Tom Cantrell
Dead Before Dawn (1993, TV film) – Masterson
No Child of Mine (1993, TV film) – Lamar Jenkins
Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994) – Capt. Thaddeus Harris
The Siege at Ruby Ridge (1996, TV film) – Ralph Coulter
Seduction in a Small Town (1997, TV film) – Pat Carter
The Jeff Foxworthy Show (1996–1997, Series) – Big Jim Foxworthy
Solomon (1997) – Azarel
Jesus (1999) – Livio
Brothers. Dogs. And God. (2000) – Luther Graham
St. Paul (2000) -Barnabas
The. Thin. Blue. Lie. (2000) – K.C.
Scorcher (2002) – General Timothy Moore
Home on the Range (2004) – Rusty, the Dog (voice)
Nip/Tuck (2005) – Wesley Kringle
The Closer (2005–2012, TV Series) – Lt. Louie Provenza
Cake: A Wedding Story (2007) – Howard Canter
Left Turn Yield (2007) – Man at Crosswalk with Dog
Johnny’s Gone (2011) – Chet
The Newest Pledge (2012) – Mr. Hodgkinson
Cupcake Wars Guest Judge (2012)
I Am Death (2013) – The Killer
Highly Functional (2017) – Dan
Major Crimes (2012–2018, TV Series) – Lt. Louie Provenza
Til Life Do Us Part (2020, short film) – Barnaby Barnes
External Links
Actor G. W. Bailey – Wikipedia
