Men Of Character Character Actors
Arthur Batanides
Police Academy 2, 3, 4 & 6/ Mr. Kirkland
The Unearthly/ Danny Green
Brannigan/ Angell
Cry Tough/ Alvears
Arthur Batanides was an American character actor who appeared in films and television.
He appeared mostly on television but had both film and television credits that amounted to to 143 according to the IMDB and his career lasted from 1951 through 1989.
Batanides was born at Tacoma, Washington in 1923.
He originally became interested in acting after performing as a stand up comedian in front of his fellow G I's in Europe during World War Two.
Batanides received his education as an actor at The Actors Lab in Los Angeles. He also gained experience on the stage.
He is probably best known from his role as Mr. Kirkland in the Police Academy films as well as the supporting role of Sergeant Olivera in the syndicated crime drama Johnny Midnight (1959 - 1960) which starred actor Edmond O'Brien.
His film debut came in 1954. His television came in the TV series Out There in 1951.
Some of the film roles of Arthur Batanides were:
Black Tuesday ( 1954) as Reporter At Execution
The Ten Commandments (1956) as Hebrew At Rameses' Gate
The Unearthly (1957) as Danny Green
Violent Road (1958) as Ben
Cry Tough (1959) as Alvears
The Leech Woman(1960) as Jerry
Spartacus (1960) as Legionnaire
Man Trap (1961) as Cortez
The Plot Thickens (1963-TV) as Kazam
The Maltese Bippy (1969) as Tony
The Feminist And The Fuzz (1971-TV) as Joe
What's A Nice Girl Like You....? (1971-TV) as Flint
The Cat Ate The Parakeet (1972) as Marty
Evil Roy Slade (1972-TV) as Lee
The Heist (1972-TV) as Frank D'Amico
Brannigan (1975) as Angell
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1975-TV) as Dawson
The Last Hurrah (1977-TV) as Ben Morrow
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) as Kirkland
Police Academy 3 : Back In Training ( 1986) as Kirkland
Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol (1987) as Kirkland
Police Academy 6 : City Under Siege (1989) as Kirkland
Mr. Batanides was very active on television appearing in programs as Out There, The Web, Warner Brothers Presents, Men Of Annapolis, Studio 57, Navy Log, The Silent Service, Broken Arrow, Tombstone Territory, Maverick, The Millionaire, Colt 45, State Trooper, U S Marshal, Peter Gunn, Alcoa Theater, Man With A Camera, Zorro, Yancy Derringer, The Third Man, Border Patrol, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Whirlybirds, Decoy, Playhouse 90, Richard Diamond Private Detective, One Step Beyond, Mike Hammer, The Lawless Years, Lawman, Lock Up, Mr. Lucky, Johnny Staccato, Wanted Dead Or Alive, M Squad, Riverboat, Route 66, Stagecoach West, Bonanza, The Islanders, The Detectives, Rawhide, The Twilight Zone, Target The Corruptors, Adventures In Paradise, 87th Precinct, Perry Mason, G E True Theater, The Rifleman, Ben Casey, Combat!, The Fugitive, The Outer Limits, The Great Adventure, Dr. Kildare, Kraft Suspense Theater, The Rogues, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Bill Dana Show, Burke's Law, Gunsmoke, Honey West, A Man Called Shenandoah, Get Smart!, Death Valley Days, The Man From UNCLE, The Time Tunnel, The Green Hornet, Lost In Space, Cimarron Strip, I Spy, Land Of The Giants, The Wild Wild West, Gomer Pyle USMC, Star Trek, Mod Squad, It Takes A Thief, Daniel Boone, The Silent Force, The Name Of The Game, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible, The Streets Of San Francisco, McCloud, Ironside, Columbo, The Odd Couple, Police Story, Wonder Woman, The Misadventures Of Sheriff Lobo, Lou Grant, Quincy ME and Happy Days among others.
He was very much a familiar face on the small screen in the 1960's and 1970's.
He retired from acting after his last film Police Academy 6: City Under Siege in 1989.
Batanides was married to Madge Ware.
Arthur Batanides passed away in January, 2000 from natural causes.
I enjoyed this actor in Police Academy film series as well as The Unearthly, The Leech Woman, Brannigan, Violent Road and Cry Tough.
Louie The Movie Buff