Dennis Franz
Encyclopedia
Dennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz
Andy Sipowicz
Andy Sipowicz is a fictional character and protagonist on the popular ABC television series NYPD Blue. Dennis Franz portrayed the character for its entire run....

, a hard-boiled police detective in the television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

. He previously appeared as Lt. Norman Buntz on Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...

, and earlier played Detective Benedetto on the same show.

Early life

Franz was born Dennis Franz Schlachta in Maywood
Maywood, Illinois
Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was founded on April 6, 1869 and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 26,987 at the 2000 census.-Overview:...

, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, the son of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 immigrants Eleanor, a postal worker, and Franz Schlachta, who was a baker and postal worker. Franz is a graduate of Proviso East High School
Proviso East High School
Proviso East High School is a public secondary school in Maywood, Illinois which serves the educational needs of Maywood and three other villages within Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois: Broadview, Forest Park and Melrose Park. It is the original campus of Proviso Township High Schools...

 (in Maywood) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public research university located in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1869, SIUC is the flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system...

. After graduating from college, Franz was drafted into the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. He served eleven months with the 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

.

Career

Franz began his acting career at Chicago's Organic Theater Company
Organic Theater Company
Organic Theater Company, a Chicago theatre, was founded in the 1970s by artistic director Stuart Gordon. The theater company was incorporated in 1972...

. Although he has in the past performed Shakespeare, his "look" led to his being typecast early in his career as a police officer. (By Franz' own count, the character of Detective Andy Sipowicz was his 27th role as a police officer). He has also guest-starred in shows such as The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...

. Other major roles were on the television series Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...

 in which he played two characters over the run of that show. Franz first played the role of Officer Sal Benedetto, a corrupt cop in the 1983 season, who later kills himself. Due to his popularity with fans, he returned in 1985 as Lt. Norm Buntz, remaining until the show's end in 1987. He starred in the short-lived Beverly Hills Buntz
Beverly Hills Buntz
Beverly Hills Buntz was a short-lived spinoff from Hill Street Blues. It aired on NBC during the 1987-88 season.-Overview:The show was a 30-minute 'dramedy', that was a hybrid between light private eye fare and a sit-com. The main character, Norman Buntz, was previously seen as a morally and...

 as the morally questionable Norman Buntz.

Franz went on to win four Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

s for his portrayal of Andy Sipowicz on NYPD Blue. The character of Sipowicz was ranked #23 on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters list.

He starred as "Earl", the abusive husband, in the Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...

' music video "Goodbye Earl" and as Nathaniel Messinger in the 1998 film, City of Angels.

Filmography

  • City of Angels (1998) .... Nathaniel Messinger
  • Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off
    Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off
    Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off is a Disney direct-to-video animated film released on 8 April 1997. It is a compilation of three episodes from the animated television series Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series.-External links:...

     (1997) (V) (voice) .... Captain Klegghorn
  • American Buffalo
    American Buffalo (film)
    American Buffalo is a 1996 British/American drama film directed by Michael Corrente and starring Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz, and Sean Nelson...

     (1996) .... Don 'Donny' Dubrow, Owner Rvterbands Variety
  • Mighty Ducks (1996) TV Series (voice) .... Captain Klegghorn
  • Healing the Hate (1996) (TV) .... Host
  • Texas Justice
    Texas Justice
    Katherine Levine a now Broadcasting Professor at Montclair State University, was the Producer and creator of the show.Texas Justice is a syndicated television program in the U.S. In the program, cases were judged by Larry Joe Doherty, and the program was recorded at the studios of Fox station KRIV...

     (1995) (TV) .... Richard 'Racehorse' Haynes
  • Moment of Truth: Caught in the Crossfire (1994) (TV) .... Gus Payne
  • The Simpsons
    The Simpsons
    The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

     (1994 cameo)
  • NYPD Blue
    NYPD Blue
    NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

     (1993–2005) TV Series .... Det. Andy Sipowicz
  • In the Line of Duty: Siege at Marion (1992) (TV) .... Bob Bryant
  • The Sid Story (1991) (Training Film) .... Sid
  • N.Y.P.D. Mounted (1991) (TV) .... Tony Spampatta
  • Nasty Boys
    Nasty Boys (TV series)
    The Nasty Boys was a television action drama series based on the real life Narcotics Officers of the North Las vegas Police Department.-Background:...

     (1990) TV Series .... Lt. Stan Krieger (1990)
  • Die Hard 2
    Die Hard 2
    Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane...

     (1990) .... Capt. Carmine Lorenzo
  • Nasty Boys, Part 2: Lone Justice (1990) (TV)
  • The Package (1989) .... Lt. Milan Delich
  • Kiss Shot (1989) (TV) .... Max Fleischer
  • Beverly Hills Buntz
    Beverly Hills Buntz
    Beverly Hills Buntz was a short-lived spinoff from Hill Street Blues. It aired on NBC during the 1987-88 season.-Overview:The show was a 30-minute 'dramedy', that was a hybrid between light private eye fare and a sit-com. The main character, Norman Buntz, was previously seen as a morally and...

     (1987) TV Series .... Norman Buntz
  • Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Pat Hobby Teamed with Genius (1987) (TV) .... Louie
  • A Fine Mess
    A Fine Mess
    A Fine Mess is a 1986 comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring Ted Danson and Howie Mandel.The film was intended as a remake of Laurel & Hardy's classic short "The Music Box" and was to be semi-improvised in the same style as the director's earlier comedy, The Party, but...

     (1986) (uncredited) .... Phil
  • Hunter (1985) (TV) ... Sgt. Jackie Malenez, "Snow Queen: Parts 1 & 2."
  • Deadly Messages
    Deadly Messages
    Deadly Messages is a 1985 made-for-tv thriller film directed by Jack Bender.- Plot :After Laura Daniels - who workes at a dating consulting firm - leaves to go out on a date with lawyer Michael Krasnick , her roommate Cindy Matthews uses Laura's newly found Ouija board and gets in touch with...

     (1985) (TV) .... Detective Max Lucas
  • Body Double
    Body Double
    Body Double is a 1984 American thriller film directed by Brian De Palma starring Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, and Gregg Henry. The film is an homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, Rear Window, and Dial M for Murder. The original musical score was composed by Pino Donaggio...

     (1984) .... Rubin
  • Bay City Blues
    Bay City Blues
    Bay City Blues is an American comedy-drama series that aired on NBC from October 1983 to November 1983. The series stars Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, and Pat Corley, and was created and produced by Steven Bochco.-Synopsis:...

     (1983) TV Series .... Angelo Carbone (1983)
  • Hill Street Blues
    Hill Street Blues
    Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...

     (1981) TV Series .... Det. Sal Benedetto (1983)/Lt. Norman Buntz (1985–1987)
  • Psycho II (1983) .... Warren Toomey
  • The A-Team
    The A-Team
    The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...

     (season 2, episode 19; season 3, episode 23)
  • Chicago Story (1982) TV Series .... Officer Joe Gilland
  • Blow Out
    Blow Out
    Blow Out is a 1981 thriller film, written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budget slasher film, serendipitously captures audio evidence of an assassination involving a...

     (1981) .... Manny Karp
  • Chicago Story (1981) (TV) .... Officer Joe Gilland
  • Popeye
    Popeye (film)
    Popeye is a 1980 live-action film adaptation directed by Robert Altman and adapted from E. C. Segar's Thimble Theatre aka Popeye comic strip.Marketed with the tagline, "The sailor man with the spinach can!", the film is a musical...

     (1980) .... Spike
  • Dressed to Kill (1980) .... Detective Marino
  • Bleacher Bums
    Bleacher Bums
    Bleacher Bums is a 1977 play written collaboratively by members of Chicago's Organic Theater Company, from an idea by actor Joe Mantegna. Its original Chicago production was directed by Stuart Gordon...

     (1979) (TV)
  • A Perfect Couple
    A Perfect Couple
    A Perfect Couple is a 1979 film directed by Robert Altman.- Plot :An older man, played by Paul Dooley, tries romancing a younger woman, played by Marta Heflin. She is part of a travelling band of bohemian musicians who perform gigs in outdoor arenas around the country. He joins them on the road...

     (1979) .... Costa
  • Stony Island
    Kamenny Island
    Kamenny Ostrov, Kamenny Island, or Stony Island is one of the islands in the Neva delta. It is part of Saint Petersburg, Russia....

     (1978) .... Jerry Domino
  • A Wedding
    A Wedding
    A Wedding is a 1978 black comedy film directed by Robert Altman, starring Carol Burnett, Lillian Gish, Geraldine Chaplin, Vittorio Gassman, Mia Farrow, Lauren Hutton, Craig Richard Nelson, Pam Dawber, Desi Arnaz, Jr., Paul Dooley, Dennis Christopher, and Howard Duff...

     (1978) .... Koons
  • The Fury (1978) .... Bob
  • Remember My Name
    Remember My Name (film)
    Remember My Name is a 1978 American thriller film, written and directed by Alan Rudolph and produced by Robert Altman. Geraldine Chaplin stars as a deranged woman, determined to get back her husband, Anthony Perkins. Rudolph explained what he wanted to achieve; "an update of the classic woman's...

     (1978) .... Franks

External links

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