Bubba Smith, Known For His Role as “Hightower” in ‘Police Academy’, Dead at 66

'Police Academy' will forever be embedded into my childhood memories. I don't even remember the plots, but I do remember the characters vividly. From the human sound box, "Jones" to Bobcat Goldthwait's erratic 'Zed' character I can almost quote their famous lines word for word.

So when I heard the sad news about the passing of Charles "Bubba" Smith-known to many as "Hightower" in 6 of the 'Police Academy' movies I was super bummed. Not only did he play the popular character from 'Police Academy', but at 6'7" he also dominated in the NFL for 9 seasons playing for the Oakland Raiders, the Houston Oilers and even winning Super Bowl V with the Baltimore Colts.

According to TMZ, so far the cause of death is undetermined.

The L.A. County Coroner is on the scene investigating. We're told, at this point, authorities think he died of natural causes.

According to the L.A. Times, Bubba's caretaker discovered the body and called police. His autopsy will be performed later this week.

Here is my favorite scene from Bubba Smith as 'Badula' in 'Police Academy.' RIP Hightower !!!