Henry Polic II obit

Veteran Actor Henry Polic II Dies at Age 68

He was not on the list.

Veteran character actor Henry Polic II, who found television pop culture fame as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1975 Mel Brooks television series When Things Were Rotten and as Uncle Jerry Silver in the 1980s television series Webster, died last night after a long battle with cancer, it was announced today by his longtime manager Brad Lemack. He was 68.

Polic was also a prolific and popular television game show player and host, having been a semi-regular on both The $25,000 Pyramid and its later incarnation The $100,000 Pyramid, both hosted by Dick Clark. Polic also hosted the 1986 ABC-TV game show Celebrity Double Talk and found cult fame as The Voice of the Scarecrow in the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series.

Polic earned a lifetime of acting credits in other television series and films, including his regular role as Dracula in the 1976 series Monster Squad and as a guest star in episodes of Alice, Mork & Mindy, Eight is Enough, Murder She Wrote, Sheena, Saved By the Bell and dozens of others.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1945, Polic attended Florida State University, where he earned a MFA degree in acting. While a student there, he appeared in numerous professional stage productions at the Asolo Repertory Company, in Sarasota.

Following graduation, he was drafted into the armed forces as a military policeman, initially stationed at Fort Riley, in Kansas, assigned to split duty special services. Later, on his way to becoming a professional actor, Polic became associated with the Missouri Tent Theatre, the Player's Theatre of Miami and Phoenix's Southwest Ensemble Theatre, among others.

His move to Los Angeles in the early 1970s led to his television debut as the Sheriff of Nottingham in When Things Were Rotten.

Polic's film credits include The Last Remake of Beau Geste, All You Need, Bring Him Home, The Trial of Old Drum, Oh God, Book II and Joan River's comedy Rabbit Test.

A complete list of Polic's television and stage credits is available on imdb.com or here.

Theatre was always a major interest and an intent passion. During his career, Polic appeared in more than 70 regional and local productions, including the world premiere production of the now-Broadway hit Sister Act: The Musical, at the Pasadena Playhouse, in which he originated the role of Monsignor Howard. Other theatre credits include Long Beach Civic Light Opera's production of 1776, Long Beach International City Theatre's Putting It Together, Music Theatre West's Never Gonna Dance and the world premiere productions of A Couple of Guys at the Movies and Is This Your Life? (written expressly for him), in which he starred.

Polic also loved working with actors as a stage director. His directing credits include Neil Simon's Fools for the Actors Co-op, in Hollywood, and the Rubicon Theatre, in Ventura, the world premiere of Jim Geoghan's Two Gentlemen of Corona, the world premiere production of Nebraska, both the Los Angeles and New York productions of Brine County Wedding, and a box office record-breaking production of Dracula, for American Stage, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

As a celebrity auctioneer and event host, he helped raise over two-million dollars over the years for numerous and varied charities across the country, including the Adam Walsh Foundation, Concern Foundation for Caner Research, American Diabetes Association and the Leukemia Foundation.

On occasion, Polic also took some time away from his acting and directing work to teach, including a course in acting for the camera at the Emerson College Los Angeles Center and a course in acting and performance at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, in Los Angeles.

Polic was a member of The Actors Fund since 1973 and a member of the organization's Western Council, which honored him last year with Emeritus status, one of his most cherished achievements.

A memorial scholarship fund has been established in Polic's name at his beloved alma mater to provide funding to assist the School of Theatre's annual production of new works. Contributions can be made by contacting Fred Salancy at fsalancy@admin.fsu.edu

Filmography
Film
Year     Title     Role     Notes
1977     The Last Remake of Beau Geste     Captain Merdmanger    
1978     Rabbit Test     Tito    
1979     Scavenger Hunt     Naked Policeman    
1980     Oh, God! Book II     Psychiatrist 5    
1989     Hollywood Chaos        
1992     Double Trouble     Stephen Tarlow     Uncredited
1993     King B: A Life in the Movies     Stuart Peters    
2000     Bring Him Home     Ames    
2001     All You Need     Mr. Etheridge    
2002     Would I Lie to You?     Button King     Direct-to-video

Television
Year     Title     Role     Notes
1975     When Things Were Rotten     The Sheriff of Nottingham     13 episodes
1976     The Bionic Woman     The Man     Episode: "Bionic Beauty"
1976     Monster Squad     Dracula     13 episodes
1977     Alice     Walter     Episode: "The Failure"
1977     McNamara's Band     Schnell     Television film
1978–1980     Eight Is Enough     Jay Redding     2 episodes
1978–1981     Fantasy Island     Baron Boris / Marty     2 episodes
1979     Mork & Mindy     Dr. Benton Phillips     Episode: "Mork Runs Down"
1979     Detective School     Zarkov     Episode: "Hooray for Bulgaria"
1979     Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo     Additional Voices    
1980     The Incredible Hulk     Donald     Episode: "Equinox"
1980     The Love Boat     Pierre     Episode: "No Girls for Doc/Marriage of Convenience/The Caller/The Witness"
1980–1981     The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang     Additional Voices     24 episodes
1981     Scruples     Mark Stiner     Television film
1982     Darkroom     Frederick     Episode: "The Rarest of Wines"
1982     Shirt Tales     Additional Voices     13 episodes
1982     Cagney & Lacey     Francois     Episode: "Beauty Burglars"
1982     The New Odd Couple     Davies     Episode: "The Cordon Blues"
1982     The Smurfs Christmas Special     (voice)     Television short
1982–1989     The Smurfs     Tracker Smurf (voice)     3 episodes
1983     The Dukes     (voice)     13 episodes
1983     Gun Shy     Randy Turner     Episode: "We Gotta Know When to Hold 'Em"
1983     The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show     (voice)    
1983–1989     Webster     Jerry Silver / The Devil     66 episodes
1984     The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries     Additional Voices     Episode: "Happy Birthday, Scooby-Doo"
1984–1985     E/R     Dr. Ravi Raja / Ivo     2 episodes
1985     Hotel     Roy Stern     Episode: "Illusions"
1985     The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible     (voice)     Episode: "Daniel and the Lion's Den"
1986–1989     Murder, She Wrote     Arthur Bishop / Alan Dupree     2 episodes
1988     Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats     Snerdly (voice)     Television film
1988     The New Yogi Bear Show     Additional Voices     4 episodes
1988     Superman     Wildsharkk (voice)     Episode: "Wildsharkk/To Play or Not to Play"
1988–1989     Fantastic Max     Additional Voices     3 episodes
1989–1990     Paddington Bear     Sir Sealy Bloom (voice)     2 episodes
1990     Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone     (voice)     13 episodes
1990     The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda     Additional Voices     Episode: "Pity the Poor Pirate"
1991     They Came from Outer Space     Val Vincent     Episode: "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"
1991     Morton & Hayes     Maitre'd     Episode: "Daffy Dicks"
1991     Yo Yogi!     Baba Looey (voice)     9 episodes
1992     The Golden Palace     Dining Room Guest     Episode: "Seems Like Old Times: Part 1"
1992     Saved by the Bell     Mr. Bainbridge     Episode: "Snow White and the Seven Dorks"
1992     Tom & Jerry Kids     (voice)     Episode: "Penthouse Mouse/12 Angry Sheep/The Ant Attack"
1992–1994     Batman: The Animated Series     The Scarecrow / Dr. Jonathan Crane / Security Guard (voice)     5 episodes
1993     I Yabba-Dabba Do!     Seagull Writer (voice)     Television film
1994     Mighty Max     Nemo (voice)     Episode: "Around the World in Eighty Arms"
1999     Profiler     Richard Fallen     Episode: "Three Carat Crisis"
2000     The Trial of Old Drum     Doc Thompson     Television film
2000     Sheena     Professor Barrington     Episode: "Wild Thing"
2003     She Spies     Michael Osborne     Episode: "Gone Bad"
2004     Combustion     Dr. Watson     Television film