John Pankow

John Pankow (born April 28, 1954) is an American actor. He is a series regular on the Showtime/BBC series "Episodes", playing Merc Lapidus, the volatile former head of a major U.S. television network.

Early life

Pankow was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the sixth of nine siblings. His elder brother is trombonist/composer James Pankow, a founding member of the legendary rock group Chicago. Pankow grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois, and attended Maine South High School and Northeastern Illinois University. He is from a Roman Catholic family of German and Irish descent.^[1]

Career

Pankow, a veteran actor of stage, film and television, appeared for seven seasons as Ira Buchman on the NBC sitcom Mad About You. Pankow was a series regular on the Showtime/BBC series Episodes, playing American television executive Merc Lapidus. He played federal agent John Vukovich opposite William Petersen and Willem Dafoe in To Live and Die in L.A.

Personal life

Pankow has been married to actress Kristine Sutherland (best known for playing Buffy's mother Joyce Summers on the WB series Buffy the Vampire Slayer) since 1985.

Selected filmography

• The Chosen (1981)
• The Hunger (1983)
• To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
• *batteries not included (1987)
• The Secret of My Success (1987)
• Monkey Shines (1988)
• Talk Radio (1988)
• Mortal Thoughts (1991)
• Year of the Gun (1991)
• A Stranger Among Us (1992)
• The Object of My Affection (1998)
• Life as a House (2001)
• Bride Wars (2009)
• The Extra Man (2010)
• Morning Glory (2010)

New York stage

• Merton of the Movies (1980)
• The Slab Boys (1980)
• Forty-Deuce (1981)
• Hunting Scenes From Lower Bavaria (1981)
• Amadeus (1981)
• Cloud Nine (1982)
• Jazz Poets at the Grotto (1982)
• Henry V (1984)
• The Iceman Cometh (1985)
• North Shore Fish (1987)
• Two Gentlemen of Verona (1987)
• Serious Money (1987)
• Italian American Reconciliation (1988)
• Aristocrats (1989)
• Ice Cream with Hot Fudge (1990)
• Scheherazade (1992)
• The Tempest (1995)
• Baby Anger (1997)
• Measure for Measure (2001)
• Barbra's Wedding (2003)
• Twelve Angry Men (2004)
• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (2006)
• Cymbeline (2007)
• Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them (2009)
• Keep Your Pantheon (2009)
• School (2009)
• Equivocation (2010)
• Taming of the Shrew (2012)
• Medieval Play (2012)
• Natural Affection (2013)
• Much Ado About Nothing (2014)
• Dada Woof Papa Hot (2015)

Television series

• The Doctors (1981–1982)
• The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1990–1991)
• Mad About You (1993–1999)
• Episodes (2011–present)
• Madam Secretary (Guest starring in "So it Goes")

References

External links

• John Pankow on IMDb
• John Pankow at the Internet Broadway Database
  
• John Pankow at the Internet Off-Broadway Database