# Larry Hankin

Lawrence Alan Hankin (born December 7, 1937) is an American character actor. He has had major film roles as Charley Butts in Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Ace in Running Scared (1986), and Carl Alphonse in Billy Madison (1995). He had smaller roles as Doobby in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Sergeant Larry Balzak in Home Alone, Mr. Heckles in Friends, and Joe in Breaking Bad and El Camino.

## Early life

Hankin was born in New York City on December 7, 1937, and grew up in a Jewish family in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens. He graduated from Far Rockaway High School and Syracuse University, where he befriended screenwriter Carl Gottlieb.

## Career
### Film and television roles

Hankin was an early member of the Second City, training with improvisational theater teachers Viola Spolin and Paul Sills, and in 1963 moved to San Francisco to co-found the improv troupe, The Committee. His first notable supporting role was as Pt. Romero in Viva Max! in 1969.
He had roles in TV shows Breaking Bad, Matlock, and Friends (as Mr. Heckles), as well as a major role in Escape from Alcatraz (1979) with Clint Eastwood. He also acted in How Sweet It Is! (1968) with Debbie Reynolds and James Garner and the Adam Sandler movie Billy Madison (1995). He had cameo appearances in three John Hughes films: Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), She's Having a Baby (1988), and Home Alone (1990), the latter of which coincidentally featured Roberts Blossom (playing Old Man Marley), whom he co-starred with in Escape from Alcatraz. He made a brief appearance in Pretty Woman (1990) as the landlord, and had minor roles in Loose Shoes (1980), as "Handicap" in The Sting II (1983), The Sure Thing (1985), and Running Scared (1986). Hankin also appeared in Married... with Children, as well as one of the Halloween specials of Home Improvement. Hankin also appeared in three episodes of Star Trek: Voyager as Gaunt Gary and one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Hankin and Curtis Armstrong played the hippie entrepreneurs who purchased "Buy the Book" (the bookstore where the titular character works at) on Ellen.
On Seinfeld, Hankin portrayed Tom Pepper, the actor cast as Kramer on the pilot-within-a-TV-show Jerry. He portrayed a homeless man in season 5 of Malcolm in the Middle. He then appeared again with Bryan Cranston in seasons three and five of Breaking Bad as junkyard owner Old Joe. He reprised his old role from Breaking Bad in the Netflix sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
In 2022, he won the Best Actor awarded at Casablanca Film Factory Awards for his performance in the movie I Hear the Trees Whispering.

### Other work

One of Hankin's earliest roles was playing the lead character of Farley in the 1964 educational film Too Tough to Care.
In 1977, Hankin appeared in the episode "The Bums vs. the Reds" of the situation comedy The San Pedro Beach Bums. He also played Mickey the Bartender in a WKRP in Cincinnati episode called "Hotel Oceanview" that also has a cameo appearance by Dr. Joyce Brothers as "Vicky Von Vicky".
In 1982, he played the dog catcher that tries to take Sandy in Annie.
In 1980, Hankin's short film Solly's Diner earned him and the film's producers a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
Hankin was a founding member of the commedia dell'arte improvisation group The Committee in 1963, located at an indoor bocce ball court in San Francisco's North Beach district.
He appeared in the Janet Jackson music video for her 1986 hit single "What Have You Done for Me Lately" as a cook/waiter.
In 2021, he appeared in Friends: The Reunion.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1964 | Too Tough To Care | Farley |
| 1967 | Funnyman | Roger |
| 1968 | Yours, Mine and Ours | Grocery Clerk |
| 1968 | How Sweet It Is! | 1st Policeman |
| 1969 | Viva Max! | P.t. Romero |
| 1977 | China DeSade | Agent | Adult film. Credited as Lance Hunt |
| 1979 | Escape From Alcatraz | Charley Butts |
| 1979 | The Jerk | Circus Hand | Uncredited |
| 1980 | Loose Shoes | 2nd Veteran |
| 1980 | Solly’s Dinner | Sometimes Jones | Short film. Also Writer and Producer. Academy Award nominee for Best Short Film, Live Action. |
| 1982 | Annie | Pound Man |
| 1983 | The Star Chamber | Det. Kenneth Wiggan |
| 1983 | The Sting II | Handicap |
| 1985 | The Sure Thing | Trucker |
| 1986 | Ratboy | Robert Jewell | |
| 1986 | Running Scared | Ace |
| 1986 | Armed and Dangerous | Kokolovitch |
| 1987 | Amazon Women on the Moon | Man in Pub |
| 1987 | Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Doobby |
| 1988 | She's Having a Baby | Hank |
| 1990 | Home Alone | Sgt. Larry Balzak |
| 1990 | Pretty Woman | The Landlord |
| 1990 | Death Warrant | Mayerson |
| 1991 | Black Magic Woman | Hank Watfield |
| 1992 | T Bone N Weasel | Rev. Gluck | Television Film |
| 1994 | The Shadow | Taxi Driver |
| 1995 | Billy Madison | Carl Alphonse |
| 1997 | Vegas Vacation | Preacher |
| 1997 | Money Talks | Roland |
| 2000 | The Independent | William Henry Ellis |
| 2003 | Nobody Knows Anything! | Blind Man |
| 2008 | Reach for Me | Elliot |
| 2013 | Pain & Gain | Pastor Randy |
| 2015 | The Parting Shot | Aaron | Short Film. Nominated: LAIFF April Award for best Actor in a lead role. |
| 2019 | El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie | Old Joe |
| 2021 | Bengal | Hank | Short Film. |
| 2021 | The Eden Theory | Farmer Joe |
| 2021 | Friends: The Reunion | Himself/Mr. Heckles | Television Reunion Special |
| 2022 | I Hear the Trees Whispering | Dale |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1966 | That Girl | Gus | Episode: "Rich Little Rich Kid" |
| 1969 | The Music Scene | Himself/host | 7 Episodes |
| 1978 | Free Country | Unknown | 1 Episode |
| 1980 | WKRP in Cincinnati | Mickey Broadhead | Episode: "Hotel Oceanview" |
| 1981 | Barney Miller | Earl Kelso | Episode: "The Psychic" |
| 1982 | Family Ties | Pickpocket | Episode: "No Nukes is Good Nukes" |
| 1985 | It's a Living | Josep | Episode: "Desperate Hours" |
| 1985 | Hill Street Blues | Earl Schuester | Episode: "Of Human Garbage" |
| 1986 | Matlock | Clayton Hood | Episode: "The Ex" |
| 1986 | ALF | Andrew Seminick, Burglar | Episode: "Strangers in the Night" |
| 1986 | Joe Bash | Stu | 2 Episodes |
| 1990 | Singer & Sons | Homeless Man | Episode: "Our's Not to Reason Why Shmy" |
| 1992 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Wind Dancer | Episode: "Cost of Living" |
| 1993 | Seinfeld | Tom Pepper | Episode: "The Pilot" |
| 1993 | Picket Fences | Bernie Thompson | Episode: "Nuclear Meltdowns" |
| 1994 | Married... with Children | Mary | Episode: "Sofa So Good" |
| 1994 | The George Carlin Show | Kenny | Episode: "George Goes Too Far" |
| 1994–1996 | Friends | Mr. Heckles | 5 Episodes |
| 1995 | Star Trek: Voyager | Gaunt Gary | 3 Episodes |
| 1996 | Home Improvement | Larry | Episode: "I Was A Teenage Teenager" |
| 1996 | Ellen | Larry | Episode: "Give Me Equity or Give Me Death" |
| 1997 | Claude's Crib | Al | Supporting Cast (9 Episodes) |
| 2005 | Joan of Arcadia | Homeless Man God | Episode: "Secret Service" |
| 2006 | My Name Is Earl | Tom Sparks | Episode: "Van Hickey" |
| 2007-2012 | CSI:Crime Scene Investigation | Zapata Childs; Old Stoner Dude | Episode: “Dead Doll”; “Wild Flowers” |
| 2010–2012 | Breaking Bad | Old Joe | 2 Episodes |
| 2016 | Bad Internet | Himself | Episode: "Which of The 'Friends' Are You?" | Web Series |
| 2018 | Barry | Stovka | Episode: "Chapter Three: Make the Unsafe Choice" |
| 2018 | Junk Drawer Magical Adventures | Magic Al | Episode: "The Magician Audition" |
| 2019 | Baskets | Mortician | Episode: "Common Room Wake" |

### Music videos

| Year | Artist | Title | Role |
| 1986 | Janet Jackson | "What Have You Done for Me Lately" | Cook/Waiter |
| 1992 | Reba McEntire | "Take It Back" | Lawyer |