What Is Dennis Franz's Net Worth and Salary?
Dennis Franz is an American actor who has a net worth of $35 million. Dennis Franz is probably most famous for playing the role of Andy Sipowicz on the long-running television series "NYPD Blue." Prior to his role as Sipowicz, he played Lt.Norman Buntz on another police drama, "Hill Streets Blues." Buntz was actually the second character Franz played on "HSB." Before that, he played Detective Benedetto.
Early Life
Dennis Franz was born Dennis Franz Schlachta on October 28, 1944, in Maywood, Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Eleanor and Franz Ferdinand Schlachta, were German immigrants. In 1962, Dennis graduated from Proviso East High School, where he was active in sports. He went on to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He was drafted into the United States Army after graduating with a bachelor's degree in speech and theater in 1968, and he then served for 11 months with the 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam.
Career
Franz started his career in acting at Chicago's Organic Theater Company. He has performed Shakespeare, but his looks have led him to be typecast as a police officer. In fact, his role as Detective Andy Sipowicz on "NYPD Blue" was his 27th role as a police officer. Dennis also has guest-starred roles on popular TV shows such as "The A-Team." In the role of Andy Sipowicz on "NYPD Blue," Franz won four Emmy Awards for his outstanding performances. He appeared in 261 episodes of the show from 1993 to 2005. The Bravo network put together a list of the 100 greatest TV Characters, on which Detective Sipowicz was #23.
Franz's other major roles included Detective Sal Benedetto on the TV show "Hill Street Blues from 1982 to 1983; however, the role of Benedetto was written out due to the character committing suicide. Franz returned in 1985 to "Hill Street Blues" as the character Lt. Norman Buntz, a role that he stayed in until 1987. He reprised his role as the same character in the short-lived television program "Beverly Hills Buntz." During this time, he worked regularly with directors Robert Altman and Brian De Palma, appearing in three of Altman's films and five of De Palma's, including 1984's "Body Double."
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In 1996, Franz supplied the voice of Captain Klegghorn in the Disney cartoon "Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series," which ran from 1996 to 1997. He made a cameo appearance as himself on "The Simpsons" in 1994.
In May 2001, Dennis appeared as a contestant on the celebrity edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." He won $250,000 for his chosen charity, the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance. In the early 2000s, Franz worked as a commercial spokesman for Nextel. Other roles included Earl in the Dixie Chicks' music video "Goodbye Earl." He also starred as airport police captain Carmine Lorenzo in 1990's "Die Hard 2." Franz's most recent film role was Nathaniel Messinger in 1998's "City of Angels." That same year, he appeared as a guest on "Sesame Street" in the episode titled "Monster Day."
The final episode of "NYPD" in 2005 was his last TV appearance before he retired from acting altogether in order to focus on his personal life. Dennis did, however, grace the small screen again along with his former "NYPD" co-star Jimmy Smits in 2016 at the Primetime Emmy Awards to present the award to "Game of Thrones" for Outstanding Drama Series.
"NYPD" Salary
At his peak on the series, before including royalties, Dennis Franz earned $300,000 per episode of "NYPD Blue." That worked out to around $7.2 million per season.
Personal Life
In 2012, Franz spoke at a Memorial Day Concert about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the PTSD of veterans.
Dennis met Joanie Zeck in 1982, and they married in 1995. Zeck had two daughters from a previous marriage, who became Franz's stepdaughters. Dennis and Joanie spend summers at their lake home in northern Idaho.
Real Estate
In 2003, Dennis and Joanie paid $715,000 for a townhouse in Century City, California. They appear to still own this property after attempting to sell it in 2007 for $1.4 million, or they sold it off-market at some point.
In 2010, Dennis and Joanie paid $2.15 million for a 1.6-acre property in Montecito, California. After renovating the property and enjoying it for a few years, they listed the home for sale for $7.45 million in 2014. They ultimately accepted $5.89 million in June 2017. Theoretically, they should have held onto this home because today, it is estimated to be worth around $10 million.
Franz's primary home in Southern California is an 8,000-square-foot property in Santa Barbara, which he and Joanie bought in 1996 for an undisclosed amount. Today, this home is likely worth $12-14 million.
The couple also owns a waterfront mansion in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This property has 400 feet of waterfront and sits on 82 acres. In 2007, Dennis challenged the county assessor over the value it placed on the mansion. The county initially pegged the value at $5.1 million. Franz argued that the property was worth closer to $3 million. According to Zillow, today, their property is worth $13 million based on similar recent comparable sales.
