Stuart Pankin

Stuart Pankin
Born (1946-04-08) April 8, 1946
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation Actor, voice actor, comedian
Years active 1974–present
Spouse(s) Joy Pankin (m. 1974)
Children 1

Stuart Pankin (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor, voice actor and comedian who is best known for his 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 Orthodox Jew Ben Heineman 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.[4][5]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

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