Marion Ramsey (May 10, 1947 – January 7, 2021) was an American actress and singer. She was a regular on the series '' Cos'' but is best known for her role as the soft-spoken Officer Laverne Hooks in the ''

Police Academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or to o ...

'' series. Later she appeared in the films ''Recipe for Disaster'' and ''

Return to Babylon ''Return to Babylon'' is a 2013 black-and-white silent film about the silent film era. It was directed by Alex Monty Canawati. It stars an ensemble cast of Jennifer Tilly, María Conchita Alonso, Ione Skye, Debi Mazar, Laura Harring, and Tipp ...

'', and in the television films for SyFy, such as ''

Lavalantula ''Lavalantula'' is an American 2015 science fiction comedy horror thriller television film that takes place after a series of volcanic eruptions in Los Angeles unleashes a swarm of gigantic, lava-breathing tarantulas from which the film draws ...

'' and '' 2 Lava 2 Lantula!''.

Biography

Early life

Born in Philadelphia on May 10, 1947, Ramsey's entertainment career started on stage.

Career

She co-starred in Broadway shows, including productions of '' Eubie!'' and ''Grind'', and toured the US in the musical '' Hello Dolly''. Her first television part was a guest role on the series ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...

'', and was a regular on '' Cos'', the Bill Cosby sketch comedy series. In 1976, Her career in TV and film took off after she appeared as a guest on the hit sitcom ''The Jeffersons''. One of Ramsey's most memorable roles was that of Officer Laverne Hooks in the ''

'' films. She appeared as the character in the films: ''

'' (1984), '' Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment'' (1985), '' Police Academy 3: Back in Training'' (1986), '' Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol'' (1987), '' Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach'' (1988), and '' Police Academy 6: City Under Siege'' (1989). Like most of her police academy co-stars, she did not return for the seventh and final film in the franchise, '' Police Academy: Mission to Moscow'' (1994). Ramsey lent for her voice to the character Denise Pidgeon in the animated ''Police Academy'' series, which ran from 1988 to 1989. Ramsey was one of few main cast members of the series, to not guest appear in the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

, which aired from 1997 to 1998.

Later career

Later in her career, she had guest appearances on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...

and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

shows ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animation, adult stop motion, stop-motion animated sketch comedy television series created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The twelve-minute ...

'' and ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!''. In 2015, she reunited with ''Police Academy'' stars

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for playing Carey Mahoney in the '' Police Academy'' films from 1984 to 1987. He also acted in '' Three Men and a Baby ...

and

Michael Winslow Michael Leslie Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and beatboxer billed as The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects for his ability to make realistic sounds using only his voice. He is best known for his roles in all seven ' ...

in the Syfy camp film ''

'' and its sequel ''2 Lava 2 Lantula!'' the following year. Her final acting role was in the 2018 indie film ''When I Sing''. Ramsey was a singer and songwriter who wrote songs with

Haras Fyre Haras Fyre (born January 5, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. After writing songs for Sister Sledge and Ben E. King early in his career in a songwriting duo with his girlfriend Gwen Guthrie, Fyre spent some tim ...

(composer of " Supernatural Thing," "

This Time I'll Be Sweeter "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" is a soul ballad written by Haras Fyre (professionally known as Haras Fyre, Pat Grant) and Gwen Guthrie. The first release of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" was as the A-side and B-side, B-side of the May 1975 Arista Reco ...

," "Satan's Daughter" for

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...

, and others). Ramsey was deeply committed to AIDS awareness and lent her voice for charitable causes, performing in "Divas Simply Singing," an annual fundraising event. Ramsey was good friends with actress

Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American actress and singer. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later began work on television. She was best known for her role as Nell ...

Death

She died at her

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

home on January 7, 2021, after a short illness. She was survived by three of her brothers.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsey, Marion American film actresses 1947 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Philadelphia American television actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses