Stuart Pankin (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor. He is known for his role as anchor Bob Charles in '' Not Necessarily the News'' and as the voice of Earl Sinclair in ''

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

''. Stuart is also known for his portrayal of Commander Edward Plank in the ''Zenon'' trilogy films, and

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

Ben Heineman in ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televis ...

'', as well as making many guest appearances in many television shows and for lending his voice to various animated shows and films. Among his approximately three dozen films was ''

Hollywood Knights Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

''. He also appeared in '' Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves'' and ''

Arachnophobia Arachnophobia is a specific phobia brought about by the irrational fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions. Signs and symptoms People with arachnophobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they believe could harbour spiders or th ...

'' and as Jimmy in ''

Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne from a screenplay by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. Starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and Anne Archer, the film center ...

''.

Early life and education

Pankin was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, on April 8, 1946. He attended

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = ...

, where he was a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national socia ...

, and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

.Stuart Pankin Biography - Yahoo! Movies
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Career

Early in his career, Pankin frequently performed at

St. Vincent Summer Theatre Saint Vincent Summer Theatre is a professional theatre company that is associated with Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1969 by Father Tom Devereux, O.S.B., the company was originally composed entirely of St. Vincent st ...

and still returns to perform there often. Pankin is known for his portrayal as anchor Bob Charles on HBO's '' Not Necessarily the News'', as well for voicing Earl Sinclair in the family sitcom ''

'', he is also known for playing the father Mike Dooley on the short-lived sitcom '' Nearly Departed''. Pankin also played an

in ''

''. Pankin made many guest appearances and lent his voice to animated shows, as well for appearing in numerous television commercials. One of Pankin's earliest film appearances was as asthmatic musician/magician Dudley Laywicker in ''

''. 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 ''

''. 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 IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graem ...

theaters. He has been a

spokesman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

in infomercials, including for the '' WalkFit Phase 4 Orthotics'' shoe insert. Although Pankin is known for comedy roles and

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

appearances (e.g., ''

The $100,000 Pyramid ''Pyramid'' is the collective name of a series of American television game shows that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequ ...

''), he has sometimes also taken dramatic roles, such as in the thriller ''

''. Pankin also appeared on Ken Reid's ''TV Guidance Counselor Podcast'' on January 24, 2017.

Personal life

Pankin has been married to actress Joy Pankin since 1974; together they have a son, Andy.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Radio

Web

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pankin, Stuart 1946 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Dickinson College alumni Male actors from Philadelphia 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Columbia University alumni 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews