click arial, view sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;”>GW Bailey from the cast of the popular TNT series “Major Crimes” will be the next guest in California Lutheran University’s “Conversations With…” series at 7 p.m. Friday, click April 8, in Preus-Brandt Forum.

GW Bailey’s breakout role was Sgt. Rizzo in ‘M.A.S.H.’

Actor, writer and director Markus Flanagan, who teaches at Cal Lutheran, will moderate an informal 90-minute discussion with Bailey on the craft of acting followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Bailey, a stage, television and film actor, currently stars as Lt. Louie Provenza in “Major Crimes,” a spinoff of the crime drama “The Closer,” in which he debuted the role. Although he has appeared in many dramatic roles, he may be best remembered for his crusty comedic characterizations of Staff Sgt. Luther Rizzo in the “M.A.S.H.” TV series, Thaddeus Harris in the “Police Academy” films and Capt. Felix Maxwell in “Mannequin.”

Bailey was born in Port Arthur, Texas, where he attended Thomas Jefferson High School with Janis Joplin and Jimmy Johnson. He left college and worked at local theater companies before moving to California in the mid-1970s where he landed roles on the television programs “Starsky and Hutch” and “Charlie’s Angels” and in the early Chuck Norris film “A Force of One.” He then got his breakout role as Rizzo in “M.A.S.H.” and did a star-making turn as Tom Berenger’s sidekick in “Rustler’s Rhapsody.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in theater from Texas State University in San Marcos in 1993 and later spent a year there as an artist-in-residence. In the late 1990s, he starred in three of TNT’s “The Bible Series” films: “Solomon,” “Jesus” and “Saint Paul,” in which he played the apostle’s missionary companion, Barnabas.

Since 2001, Bailey has served as the executive director of the Sunshine Kids Foundation, which provides trips and activities for young cancer patients.

The “Conversations With …” talks provide theater arts students and other aspiring actors with advice from professionals. They take the approach laid out in Flanagan’s book, “One Less Bitter Actor: The Actor’s Survival Guide,” which explains how to make it in the business of acting while staying sane and focused.

Preus-Brandt Forum is located at 135 Chapel Lane on the Thousand Oaks campus. 

The event is free. For more information, call 805-493-3415 or email [email protected].