What Is John Pankow's Net Worth?
John Pankow is an American actor who has a net worth of $4 million. John Pankow is best known for playing Ira Buchman on the NBC sitcom "Mad About You" (1993–1999; 2019) and Merc Lapidus on Showtime's "Episodes" (2011–2017). John has more than 50 acting credits to his name, including the films "To Live and Die in L.A." (1985), "*batteries not included" (1987), "The Object of My Affection" (1998), "Bride Wars" (2009), and "Morning Glory" (2010) and the television series "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" (1990–1991), "Ally McBeal" (2002), "The Book of Daniel" (2006), "Madam Secretary" (2014–2019), "Lucifer" (2015–2016; 2021), and "Chicago P.D." (2017–2018). Pankow has also performed on Broadway, appearing in productions of "Amadeus" (1982–1983), "The Iceman Cometh" (1985), "Serious Money" (1988), "Twelve Angry Men" (2004–2005), "Cymbeline" (2007–2008), and "Kiss Me, Kate" (2019).
Early Life
John Pankow was born on April 28, 1954, in St. Louis, Missouri. John is the son of Marion and Wayne Pankow, and he has eight siblings, including James Pankow, a trombonist/songwriter who co-founded the band Chicago. Pankow was raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and he studied at Maine South High School. After graduation, John attended Northeastern Illinois University, but he dropped out during his junior year after a St. Nicholas Theater production of David Mamet's "American Buffalo" inspired him to enroll in a two-year training program at the theater.
Career
Pankow auditioned for and was cast in the PBS "Great Performances" episode "Life on the Mississippi" when he traveled to New York City to visit a friend, and he later appeared in theatrical productions Off-Broadway and at the New York Shakespeare Festival. In 1981, he appeared in his first film, "The Chosen," and landed a recurring role as Danny Martin on the NBC soap opera "The Doctors." In 1982, John made his Broadway debut as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a Broadhurst Theatre production of "Amadeus," and he also played the role in a touring production. In the '80s, Pankow guest-starred on "Miami Vice" (1984), "Search for Tomorrow" (1986), and "Spenser: For Hire" (1987), and he appeared in the films "The Hunger" (1983), "The Secret of My Success" (1987), "*batteries not included" (1987), "Monkey Shines" (1988), and "Talk Radio" (1988). He had uncredited roles in "Rambo: First Blood Part II" (1985) and "Johnny Be Good" (1988), and in 1985, he starred as Secret Service Agent John Vukovich in "To Live and Die in L.A." alongside Willem Dafoe, William Petersen, and John Turturro.
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From 1990 to 1991, John played Ron Luchesse on the Lifetime series "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd," and around this time, he also appeared in the films "Mortal Thoughts" (1991), "Year of the Gun" (1991), and "A Stranger Among Us" (1992) and guest-starred on "Law & Order" (1992). In 1993, Pankow began starring as Ira Buchman on "Mad About You," which aired 164 episodes over seven seasons and received four Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. Also starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt, "Mad About You" returned for an eighth season on Spectrum in 2019, and John appeared in all 12 episodes. In the mid-1990s, he lent his voice to the animated series "Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man" (1995) and "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters" (1996), and in 1998, he co-starred with Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Allison Janney, and Alan Alda in "The Object of My Affection," which earned a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Film (Wide Release). Pankow appeared in the feature film "Life as a House" (2001) and the short film "Advice and Dissent" (2002), and he guest-starred on "Ally McBeal" (2002), "Without a Trace" (2004), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2006), "The Book of Daniel" (2006), "Law & Order" (2008), and "The Electric Company" (2009). He co-starred with Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway in the 2009 romantic comedy "Bride Wars," which grossed $115.4 million at the box office and received a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Comedy Movie.
In 2010, John co-starred with Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, Katie Holmes, and John C. Reilly in "The Extra Man" and with Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, and Diane Keaton in "Morning Glory." He then guest-starred on "Law & Order: LA" (2011), "The Good Wife" (2011), and "Elementary" (2012) and appeared in the TV movies "The Arrangement" (2013) and "Doubt" (2013). From 2011 to 2017, Pankow played Merc Lapidus on "Episodes" alongside Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan, and Tamsin Greig. The series aired 41 episodes over five seasons and earned two Golden Globe nominations for Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical as well as a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Situation Comedy. John had recurring roles as NASA Administrator Glenn on "Madam Secretary" (2014–2019), Jimmy Barnes on "Lucifer" (2015–2016; 2021), and Tommy Wells on "Chicago P.D." (2017–2018), and he guest-starred on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2015) and "Blue Bloods" (2018). In recent years, Pankow has appeared in the TV movie "Unorganized Crime" (2018), the films "Married Young" (2019) and "Before/During/After" (2020), and the plays "Turning Off The Morning News" (2018), "The True" (2018), and "Kiss Me, Kate" (2019).
(Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage)
Personal Life
John married actress Kristine Sutherland in November 1985, and they have a daughter named Eleanore. Kristine is best known for playing Joyce Summers on The WB/UPN series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and she appeared in the 1989 Disney film "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and had a recurring role as Dean McKenzie on the soap opera "One Life to Live."
Awards and Nominations
For his stage work, Pankow won a Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Performance for "The Iceman Cometh" in 1985 and a Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer for "Aristocrats" in 1989. John and his "Before/During/After" co-stars were named Best Ensemble Cast at the 2020 San Diego International Film Festival, and the "Mad About You" cast earned Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.
