After performing in such Chicago-based films as Andrew Davis' Stony Island, Bleacher Bums, which he also co-wrote, Robert Altman's A Wedding and Brian DePalma's The Fury, he moved to Los Angeles, where he has appeared in such films as Dressed to Kill, A Fine Mess, The Package, Blowout, Psycho II, Remember My Name, Popeye and A Perfect Couple. Making his rounds of casting agencies in search of film work, he ended up at the Organic Theater Company where he performed in Chicago and throughout the United States. Short and scrappy, he decided to become a character actor. She broke up with him upon discovering he had been cast and she was not.Īfter graduating from Wright Junior College in Chicago, he went on to Southern Illinois University, majoring in speech and theater before enlisting in the Armed Forces where he served 11 months in an airborne division during the Vietnam war.Īfter that, Dennis became a postman, and by his own admission, not a very good one. Young Dennis had his first taste of acting minus his girlfriend. He got his part, but the young lady didn't get hers. During his junior year, he tried out for a part in a school production of The Crucible because his girlfriend was up for a part in it. According to sources, the girls are Joanie's children from a previous marriage, and Dennis has raised them as his own for years.ĭennis was active in high school baseball, football and swimming. Tricia Franz was born in 1974 and Krista was born in 1976. Significant Other: On April 1, 1995, Dennis married his longtime love, Joanie Zeck. The youngest of three children, Dennis has two older sisters. Since NYPD Blue made its debut in 1993, Dennis Franz has portrayed a tough detective who has battled demons of his own.įamily: Dennis Franz is the son of German immigrant, Franz Schlachta and his wife, Eleanor, both of whom were Chicago postal workers. It's certainly not his first TV cop role, but it's the one that made him famous. "My agents have an understanding they're still gonna knock on my door periodically to see if there are any home runs to get me off my butt, but so far that hasn't presented itself," Franz told the New York Post, "though I left my options open and didn't say I was, for sure, closing the door and not leaving it open a crack.During his acting career, he's frequently played the role of a cop. Will he ever act again, though? It's possible. He'll also participate in nonfiction projects that are close to his heart, such as a Hill Street Blues documentary, and We Believe, a documentary about the Chicago Cubs. His presence at the 2016 Emmys was something of a surprise - he showed up with his old NYPD Blue co-star Jimmy Smits to present the award for Outstanding Drama Series to Game of Thrones. And while he may have opted to escape Hollywood for Idaho, he isn't opposed to getting in front of the camera every now and then, if the project is right. Twenty prominent country music radio stations refused to play it CMT still aired the video, and displayed phone numbers viewers could call for help in ending an abusive relationship.ĭennis Franz hasn't acted onscreen since 2005, his last portrayal of a fictional character coming with the final episode of NYPD Blue. Unsurprisingly, "Goodbye Earl" was a very controversial song (and video), and Franz got caught right in the middle of it. "I oohed and aahed at them, and we both said, 'Big fans! Big fans!' And.they asked if I'd want to do a video." They initially offered him a role as a police officer, but Franz turned it down - he wanted to play Earl. Franz told the Washington Post that he got the role after he fawned all over the group backstage at The Rosie O'Donnell Show. until she murders him by serving up poisoned black-eyed peas. In the darkly humorous clip for the single "Goodbye Earl," Franz played Earl, the abusive husband who terrorizes the song's protagonist, Wanda ( 30 Rock's Jane Krakowski). His only other credited role post-2000 was an appearance in a Dixie Chicks video. In the latter years of NYPD Blue, Franz took on less and less outside work.
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