Mike Schank, actor in cult favorite ‘American Movie,’ dead at 56
Mike Schank, actor in cult favorite ‘American Movie,’ dead at 56
FILE – In this June 25, 2011 file photo, actor Mike Schank, left, says “good bye” to his family during a press conference in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) Charles Dharapak
FILE – In this June 25, 2011 file photo, actor Mike Schank, left, says “good bye” to his family during a press conference in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) Charles Dharapak
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Schank, who won an Emmy for the role of an inept cop on the acclaimed TV show “Numb3rs,” has died, the actor’s agent said Monday. He was 56.
Schank died around midday on Sunday, after a fall at his Los Angeles home, said Steve Bierut, his agent.
Schank was best known for playing Ben Crane, a police sergeant in the HBO series “Numb3rs.” The series also starred Peter Baldwin as Crane’s cop partner, Jerry Buckley, and Steve Buscemi as Crane’s nemesis, Detective Sgt. Steve McGoff.
“It’s with great sadness that I have to announce that Mike Schank, best known for playing Ben Crane on ‘Numb3rs’ has died,” Bierut said in a statement. “He was 56.”
Schank is being remembered most for his role on the show, along with Baldwin.
“There is no greater praise I can offer a show than to say this is the show that broke me,” Schank often said.
On “Numb3rs,” Schank was a sergeant, with a dark complexion and a tattoo on the backs of his hands, which he later covered with silver tape.
He had long been a professional actor but hadn’t appeared on a TV show or movie until “Numb3rs,” a show that combined dramatic humor and cop procedural. Schank