Dennis Franz Schlachta (/frÉ'Ë nz/; born October 28, 1944), known
professionally as Dennis Franz, is a retired American actor best known
for his role as Detective Andy Sipowicz in the ABC television series
NYPD Blue (1993â€"2005), a role that earned him a Golden Globe Award,
three Screen Actors Guild Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. He
also portrayed Lt. Norman Buntz in the similar NBC series Hill Street
Blues (1985â€"1987) and its short-lived spinoff, Beverly Hills Buntz
(1987â€"1988).Franz was born October 28, 1944, in Maywood, Illinois,
the son of German immigrants Eleanor (née Mueller), a postal worker,
and Franz Ferdinand Schlachta, who was a baker and postal worker. He
has two older sisters, Heidi (born 1935) and Marlene (born 1938).Franz
is a 1962 graduate of Proviso East High School in Maywood. During his
high school years, he was active in baseball, football and swimming.
He attended Wilbur Wright College and Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, graduating from the latter with a bachelor's degree in
speech and theater in 1968.After graduating from college, Franz was
drafted into the United States Army. He served eleven months with the
82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam.
professionally as Dennis Franz, is a retired American actor best known
for his role as Detective Andy Sipowicz in the ABC television series
NYPD Blue (1993â€"2005), a role that earned him a Golden Globe Award,
three Screen Actors Guild Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. He
also portrayed Lt. Norman Buntz in the similar NBC series Hill Street
Blues (1985â€"1987) and its short-lived spinoff, Beverly Hills Buntz
(1987â€"1988).Franz was born October 28, 1944, in Maywood, Illinois,
the son of German immigrants Eleanor (née Mueller), a postal worker,
and Franz Ferdinand Schlachta, who was a baker and postal worker. He
has two older sisters, Heidi (born 1935) and Marlene (born 1938).Franz
is a 1962 graduate of Proviso East High School in Maywood. During his
high school years, he was active in baseball, football and swimming.
He attended Wilbur Wright College and Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, graduating from the latter with a bachelor's degree in
speech and theater in 1968.After graduating from college, Franz was
drafted into the United States Army. He served eleven months with the
82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam.
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