DENNIS FRANZ
Name: Dennis Franz
Born: 28 October 1944 Chicago, Illinois
Dennis Franz (born October 28, 1944) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning
American actor known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a gritty police detective in
the television series NYPD Blue.
Franz was born Dennis Franz Schlachta in Chicago, 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, Illinois) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. After
graduating college, Franz was drafted into the United States Army. He served
eleven months in an airborne division in Vietnam.
Franz began his acting career at Chicago's famed 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' 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: Sal Benedetto and Norm Buntz. He starred in the short-lived
Beverly Hills Buntz as the morally-questionable Norman Buntz.
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.
He starred as "Earl", the abusive husband, in the Dixie Chicks' music video "Goodbye
Earl". Franz gave an outstanding performance as Nathaniel Messinger, a man who
once had been an angel in the 1998 film, City of Angels.
Name: Dennis Franz
Born: 28 October 1944 Chicago, Illinois
Dennis Franz (born October 28, 1944) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning
American actor known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a gritty police detective in
the television series NYPD Blue.
Franz was born Dennis Franz Schlachta in Chicago, 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, Illinois) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. After
graduating college, Franz was drafted into the United States Army. He served
eleven months in an airborne division in Vietnam.
Franz began his acting career at Chicago's famed 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' 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: Sal Benedetto and Norm Buntz. He starred in the short-lived
Beverly Hills Buntz as the morally-questionable Norman Buntz.
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.
He starred as "Earl", the abusive husband, in the Dixie Chicks' music video "Goodbye
Earl". Franz gave an outstanding performance as Nathaniel Messinger, a man who
once had been an angel in the 1998 film, City of Angels.