What Is Dennis Franz Doing Now?

Dennis Franz Schlachta was born on October 28, 1944, and is known professionally as Dennis Franz.

Dennis Franz is an American retired actor best known for his role as NYPD Detective Andy Sipowicz in the ABC television series NYPD Blue (1993–2005), a role that earned him a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

He also portrayed two different characters on the similar NBC series Hill Street Blues (1983, 1985–1987) and its short-lived spinoff, Beverly Hills Buntz (1987–1988).

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.

In 1995, Franz married Joanie Zeck; they met in 1982. He is the stepfather of Zeck’s two daughters from her previous marriage.

What Is Dennis Franz Doing Now?

After the end of the show in 2005, Franz retired from acting to focus on his private life. He has told the New York Post he would be interested in returning to acting if given the right opportunity. He and his wife spend their summers in their lake home in northern Idaho.