John Pankow

John Pankow (born April 28, 1954) is an American actor. He began his career on-stage in New York, in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway plays including Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, John Patrick Shanley's Italian American Reconciliation, and Brian Friel's Aristocrats. After a starring role in William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A., he began appearing regularly in film and on television, playing Ira Buchman for all eight seasons of Mad About You and later Merc Lapidus on Episodes.

Early life and education Pankow was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to a Catholic family of German and Irish descent, the sixth of nine siblings. His elder brother is trombonist/composer James Pankow, a founding member of the rock group Chicago. Pankow grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois, and attended Maine South High School and Northeastern Illinois University.

He left the university in his junior year after he attended a performance of David Mamet's American Buffalo at the St. Nicholas Theater. Inspired by the play, he enrolled in the theater's two-year theatrical training program in order to concentrate solely on acting.

Career

While visiting a friend in New York City, Pankow auditioned for, and won, a role in an episode of PBS' Great Performances entitled "Life on the Mississippi". He went on to perform in several Off-Broadway productions including Aristocrats, Italian American Reconciliation, and the New York Shakespeare Festival's The Tempest, Two Gentlemen of Verona and Henry VIII. He subsequently made it to Broadway with Serious Money, The Iceman Cometh, and as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus, replacing Tim Curry in the role and subsequently replacing him for a touring production.

After minor roles in The Hunger (1983) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Pankow had his first large role on-screen in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) as rookie Secret Service agent John Vukovich, starring opposite William Petersen and Willem Dafoe. Pankow - who had previously appeared alongside Dafoe in The Hunger - was cast after director William Friedkin deliberately sought out young, relatively-unknown stage actors for the project. After casting fellow Chicagoan Petersen, the old friend reached out to Pankow, who brought him to Friedkin who cast him on the spot. Pankow landed another major supporting role in The Secret of My Success (1987) opposite Michael J. Fox, and played Demi Moore's husband in Mortal Thoughts (1991). Pankow also appeared in films directed by Matthew Robbins (Batteries Not Included, 1987), George A. Romero (Monkey Shines, 1988), Oliver Stone (Talk Radio, 1988), and John Frankenheimer (Year of the Gun, 1991).

Pankow subsequently appeared for eight seasons as Ira Buchman on the NBC sitcom Mad About You, where he was nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. He was a series regular on the Showtime/BBC series Episodes, playing American television executive Merc Lapidus. He has since appeared in numerous films and television series.

Personal life Pankow has been married to actress Kristine Sutherland since 1986 and they have one daughter together. He resides in New York City.

Stage credits

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1981 The Chosen Bully 1983 The Hunger 1st Phone Booth Youth 1985 Rambo: First Blood Part II POW #6 Uncredited To Live and Die in L.A. Secret Service Agent John Vukovich 1987 The Secret of My Success Fred Melrose *batteries not included Kovacs 1988 Johnny Be Good Lou Landers Uncredited Monkey Shines Geoffrey Fisher Talk Radio Deitz 1991 Mortal Thoughts Arthur Kellogg Year of the Gun Italo Bianchi 1992 A Stranger Among Us Levine 1998 The Object of My Affection Vince McBride 2001 Life as a House Bryan Burke 2002 Advice and Dissent Jeffrey Goldman Short film 2009 Bride Wars John 2010 The Extra Man George Morning Glory Lenny Bergman 2012 Putzel Sid 2020 Before/During/After Jim Lonergan Winner: Best Ensemble Cast San Diego International Film Festival Dr. Levovitz Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1980 Great Performances George Richie Episode: "Life on the Mississippi" 1982 The Doctors Danny Martin Contract role. 1981-1982 1984 Miami Vice Floyd Higgins Episode: "Glades" 1985 First Steps Fred Television film 1986 Search for Tomorrow Father O'Hanlan Episode: "Finale" 1987 Spenser: For Hire Billy Hanratty Episode: "The Song of Orpheus" Leg Work Chuck Savin Episode: "Pilot" 1990–1991 The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd Ron Luchesse Series regular (8 episodes) 1992 Law & Order Charles Meadow Episode: "Wedded Bliss" 1993–2019 Mad About You Ira Buchman Series regular (143 episodes) Nominated—SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1995–98) 1995 Duckman Additional Characters (voices) Episode: "Research and Destroy" 1996 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters Blook The Granfaloon (voice) Episode: "The Master Monster/Slumber Scare" 2002 Ally McBeal Barry Dekumbis 2 episodes 2004 Without a Trace Brian Owen Episode: "Exposure" 2006 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Phil Lambier Episode: "Cruise to Nowhere" The Book of Daniel Charlie Conlin 2 episodes 2008 Law & Order Assistant District Attorney Josh Lethem Episode: "Illegal" 2009 The Electric Company Stan Flea Episode: "Mighty Bright Fight" 2011 Law & Order: LA Attorney Byron Episode: "East Pasadena" The Good Wife Judge Cyril Handley Episode: "Getting Off" 2011–2017 Episodes Merc Lapidus Series regular (40 episodes) 2012 Elementary Edgar Knowles Episode: "The Long Fuse" 2013 The Arrangement Herman Mackey Television film Doubt Mr. Syd Newman 2014–2019 Madam Secretary NASA Administrator Glenn Recurring role (4 episodes) 2015 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lenny Simmons Episode: "Agent Provocateur" 2015–2016; 2021 Lucifer Jimmy Barnes 3 episodes 2017–2018 Chicago P.D. Tommy Wells 2018 Unorganized Crime Father Anthony Corso Television film Blue Bloods John Romano Episode: "The Devil You Know"