Dennis Franz biography

Synopsis

Dennis Franz made his debut in 1978’s The Fury, which garnered the attention of television producer Steven Bochco. Bochco put Franz in various television projects, but it was 1993’s controversial drama NYPD Blue that made Franz a bona fide star. Playing volatile detective Andy Sipowicz, Franz earned two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Profile

Actor. Born Dennis Schlachta on October 28, 1944 in Maywood, Illinois. The son of Chicago postal workers, Franz is the youngest of three siblings. He attended Wright Junior College and Southern Illinois University, where he received a bachelor?s degree in Speech and Theatre in 1969.

After serving 11 months in Vietnam, Franz followed his parents? footsteps and became a postman. Dissatisfied with the work in his thirties, he decided to pursue a career as a character actor. He made his debut in 1978?s The Fury, which garnered the attention of television producer Steven Bochco.

Bochco put Franz in various television projects, but it was 1993?s controversial drama NYPD Blue that made Franz a bona fide star. Playing volatile detective Andy Sipowicz, Franz has earned two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for the role.

Franz married promotion executive Joanie Zeck in 1995; the couple has two daughters, Tricia and Krista.