Stuart Pankin
| Stuart Pankin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 8, 1946 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1974–present |
Stuart Pankin (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor best known for comedy roles. He has frequently performed at St. Vincent Summer Theatre. On TV, he has played anchor Bob Charles on Not Necessarily the News, Earl Sinclair on Dinosaurs and an Orthodox Jew in Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as making many guest appearances and lending his voice to animated shows. Among his approximately three dozen films was Hollywood Knights, and he starred in Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century and its sequels, as Commander Plank. He also appeared in Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and Arachnophobia and as Jimmy in Fatal Attraction.
Early life
Pankin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Dickinson College, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Columbia University.[1]
Career
Early in his career, Pankin frequently performed at St. Vincent Summer Theatre and still returns to perform there often.[2] He was also anchor Bob Charles on HBO's Not Necessarily the News, played Earl Sinclair in the TV sitcom Dinosaurs and the father on the short-lived sitcom Nearly Departed.[3] Pankin played an Orthodox Jew in Curb Your Enthusiasm. Pankin has made many guest appearances and lent his voice to animated shows. He also appeared in numerous TV commercials.
One of Pankin's earliest film appearances was as asthmatic musician/magician Dudley Laywicker in Hollywood Knights. Among his approximately three dozen film appearances, he starred in Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Zenon: The Zequel, and Zenon: Z3 as Commander Plank. He also appeared in Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, as the brother of Wayne Szalinski, and also co-starred as a bossy, self-important lawman in the horror/comedy Arachnophobia.
More recently, Pankin also appeared as an absent-minded professor in a series of edutainment 3D films (Encounter in the Third Dimension and Misadventures in 3D), designed for large-screen IMAX theaters. He has been a spokesman in infomercials, including for the WalkFit Phase 4 Orthotics shoe insert.
Although Pankin is known for comedy roles and game show appearances (e.g., The $100,000 Pyramid), he has sometimes also taken dramatic roles, such as Michael Douglas's character's friend Jimmy, who attempts to hit on Glenn Close's character in Adrian Lyne's hit thriller Fatal Attraction.
Personal life
Pankin has been married to actress Joy Pankin since 1974; together they have one son, Andy Pankin.
Filmography
- Scavenger Hunt (1979) as Duane
- The Hollywood Knights (1980)
- Hangar 18 (1980) as Sam
- Earthbound (1981) as Sweeney
- An Eye for an Eye (1981) as Nicky LaBelle
- Irreconcilable Differences (1984) as Ronnie
- The Dirt Bike Kid (1985)
- Fatal Attraction (1987) as Jimmy
- Love at Stake (1988)
- Second Sight (1989) as Preston Pickett
- Arachnophobia (1990) as Sheriff Lloyd Parsons
- Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991)
- Life Stinks (1991) as Pritchard
- The Silence of the Hams (1994) as Pete Putrid
- Father and Scout (1994) (TV)
- Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994) as Brother Timothy
- Beanstalk (1994) as The Giant
- Congo (1995)
- Big Bully (1996)
- Striptease (1996) as Alan Mordecai
- Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997) (V) as Gordon Szalinski
- Babylon 5: The River of Souls (1998) (TV) as James Riley
- Like Father Like Santa (1998) (TV) as Snipes
- Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999) (TV) as Commander Edward Plank
- Encounter in the Third Dimension (1999) as The Professor/M.A.X.
- Zenon: The Zequel (2001) as Commander Edward Plank
- Misadventures in 3D (2003) as The Professor/M.A.X.
- Miss Cast Away (2004) as Noah
- Zenon: Z3 (2004) as Commander Edward Plank
- An Accidental Christmas (2007) as Saul
- A Woman in the West (2008) (Short) ... as Doctor Sedgewick
- Public Interest (2008) as Charles Waterford
- Dude, Where's My Bar? (2009) (Video short) ... as Moe Green
- Splatter (2009) (TV Series) in episode "Where There's a Will" ... Dr. Bellows
- Hopelessly In June (2011) as Francaise Flowers
- The Artist (2011) in episode "All I Want for Christmas" ... as Lewis
- A Christmas Wedding Date (2012) (TV Movie) ... as Santa Sam
- Desperate Housewives (2012} (TV Series) ... Patrick in episode "You Take For Granted" (uncredited)
- Shake It Up! (2011) (TV Series) in episode "Jingle It Up" ... as Santa
- Hopelessly in June (2011) ... Francaise Flowers
- Girl Meets World (2015) (TV Series) in episode "Girl Meets New Teacher" ... as Principal Yancy
TV series
- The San Pedro Beach Bums (1977-1978) as Stuf
- B.J. and the Bear (1979, 1980) (2 episodes)
- Barney Miller (1978, 1980) (2 episodes)
- House Calls (1981) (1 episode)
- CHiPs (1981) (2 episodes)
- No Soap, Radio as Tuttle
- Trapper John, M.D. (1982, 1983, 1985) (3 episodes)
- Fame (1985) (1 episode)
- Three's a Crowd (1985) (1 episode)
- Not Necessarily the News (1983-1985) as Bob Charles
- The Golden Girls (1986) (1 episode)
- Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1984, 1987) (2 episodes)
- Family Ties (1987) (1 episode)
- Hooperman (1988, 1989) (2 episodes)
- Nearly Departed (1989)
- Who's the Boss? (1989) (1 episode)
- Falcon Crest (1989)
- It's Garry Shandling's Show (1989, 1990) (2 episodes)
- Night Court (1985, 1987, 1991) (3 episodes)
- Knots Landing (1991) (6 episodes) as Benny Appleman
- Dinosaurs (1991-1994) as Earl Sinclair (voice)
- Animaniacs (1993) (voice)
- The Commish (1993) (1 episode)
- Family Matters (1993) (1 episode)
- Batman: The Animated Series (1994) (1 episode) (voice)
- Sisters (1995) (1 episode)
- What-a-Mess (1995) (voice)
- Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher (1996-1997) as Kurt Fust
- Bone Chillers (1996) (1 episode)
- Deadly Games (1996) (1 episode)
- Duckman (1996) (1 episode) (voice)
- Ally McBeal (1998) (1 episode)
- For Your Love (1998-2000) as Mark
- Suddenly Susan (1999) (1 episode)
- The Brothers Flub (1999) (1 episode) (voice)
- Batman Beyond (1999) (1 episode) (voice)
- Mad About You (1999) (1 episode)
- Action (1999) (1 episode)
- Walker, Texas Ranger (1999) (1 episode)
- Malcolm in the Middle (2001) (1 episode)
- Dharma & Greg (1998, 2001) (3 episodes)
- The Zeta Project (2001) (2 episodes)
- The Hughleys (2001) (1 episode)
- As Told by Ginger (2002) (1 episode)
- That's So Raven (2003) (1 episode)
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (2005) (2 episodes) as Ben Heineman
- Boston Legal (2006) (1 episode)
- On the Lot (2007)
- State of Mind (2007) (1 episode)
- The Suite Life on Deck (2008) (1 episode) as Simms
- Girl Meets World (2015) (1 episode) as Principal Yancy
Awards and nominations
- Cable Ace Award 1 Win (1987), 5 Nominations (1989, 1987, 1985, 1984, 1983)
- Electronic Retail Association (ERA) Best Celebrity Presenter (2006)
References
External links
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