Dennis Franz Biography

Dennis Franz (born October 28, 1944) is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective, in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt. Norman Buntz on Hill Street Blues, and earlier played Detective Benedetto on the same show.

Early life

Franz was born Dennis Franz Schlachta in Maywood, Illinois, the son of German immigrants Eleanor, a postal worker, and Franz Schlachta, who was a baker and postal worker. Franz is a graduate of Proviso East High School (in Maywood) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. After graduating from college, Franz was drafted into the United States Army. He served eleven months with the 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam.

Career

Franz began his acting career at Chicago's Organic Theater Company. 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's 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. Other major roles were on the television series Hill Street Blues in which he played two characters over the run of that show. Franz first played the role of Detective 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 as the morally questionable Norman Buntz.

Franz had a small but memorable role as a grouchy movie director in Body Double (1984).

Franz went on to win four Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Andy Sipowicz on NYPD Blue. The character of Sipowicz was ranked #23 on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters list.

In 1994 Franz made a cameo appearance as himself in The Simpsons episode "Homer Badman" - when Homer is accused of sexually harassing a babysitter, the case becomes tabloid fodder, generating an exploitative Fox telemovie, Homer S.: Portrait of an Ass-Grabber, in which Franz portrays Homer.

He starred as "Earl", the abusive husband, in the Dixie Chicks' music video "Goodbye Earl", as the obnoxious Captain Carmine Lorenzo in the 1990 action film Die Hard 2 and as Nathaniel Messinger in the 1998 film, City of Angels.

Franz has stayed out of the acting spotlight in 2005 to focus on his private life. He has told Access Hollywood he would be interested to return to acting if given the right opportunity.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Remember My Name	Franks
1978	The Fury	Bob
1978	A Wedding	Koons
1978	Stony Island	Jerry Domino
1979	A Perfect Couple	Costa
1979	Bleacher Bums	Zig	TV movie
1980	Dressed to Kill	Detective Marino
1980	Popeye	Spike
1981	Blow Out	Manny Karp
1983	Psycho II	Warren Toomey
1984	Body Double	Rubin
1985	Deadly Messages	Detective Max Lucas	TV movie
1986	A Fine Mess	Phil	Uncredited
1987	Tales from the Hollywood Hills	Louie	TV movie
1989	Kiss Shot	Max Fleischer	TV movie
1989	The Package	Lt. Milan Delich
1990	Die Hard 2	Captain Carmine Lorenzo
1990	Nasty Boys, Part 2: Lone Justice	Lt. Stan Krieger	TV movie
1991	NYPD Mounted	Tony Spampatta
1991	The Sid Story	Sid
1992	In the Line of Duty: Siege at Marion	Bob Bryant
1994	Moment of Truth: Caught in the Crossfire	Gus Payne	TV movie
1995	Texas Justice	Richard Haynes
1996	Healing the Hate	Host
1996	American Buffalo	Don Dubrow
1997	Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off	Captain Klegghorn
1998	City of Angels	Nathaniel Messinger	Nominated"?Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor " Drama Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Chicago Story	Officer Joe Gilland	13 episodes
1983-1987	Hill Street Blues	Lt. Norman Buntz	46 episodes
1983	Bay City Blues	Angelo Carbone	8 episodes
1984	The A-Team	Sam Friendly	Episode: "Chopping Spree"
1985	The A-Team	Brooks	Episode: "Beverly Hills Assault"
1985	Hunter	Sgt. Jackie Molinas	2 episodes
1987-1988	Beverly Hills Buntz	Norman Buntz	13 episodes
1989	Matlock	Jack Brennert	2 episodes
1990	Nasty Boys	Lt. Stan Krieger	12 episodes
1993-2005	NYPD Blue	Detective Andy Sipowicz	261 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Television Series Drama Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1994, 1996-1997, 1999) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1995-1997) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series (1994, 1996-1999) Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor " Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1995, 1998, 2000-2001) Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Actor " Television Series Drama (1997-1998) Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996, 1998-2002) Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1996-2000) Nominated"?Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama Nominated"?Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series
1994	The Simpsons	Himself	Episode: "Homer Badman"
1996-1997	Mighty Ducks	Captain Klegghorn	17 episodes