Dennis Franz looks unrecognizable as he is seen for the first time since his on-screen son died

Dennis Franz Miró was spotted out and about in California for the first time since his on-screen son, Austin Majors, passed away in February.

The beloved NYPD Blue actor, 78, looked unrecognizable while having lunch with his wife, Joanie Zeck, at Pan e Vino in Montecito.

The actor opted for a casual look for his evening out, rocking a navy blue sweater with a red shirt underneath and blue jeans.

He also wore a pair of gray tennis shoes and wore thin-rimmed glasses on his face.

The City of Angels star’s wispy hair was left long in the back and had gone completely gray. Her gray beard was also a bit long.

With him was his wife Joanie, who donned a long white jacket, a pair of black jeans, and sneakers.

Her auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her bangs fell straight across her forehead.

The beauty, who has been married to Dennis since 1995, wore a large pair of sunglasses on her face and carried her phone in her hand.

He has two daughters from a previous marriage, Tricia, 49, and Krista, 47, whom Dennis has since adopted.

Dennis is known for his starring role on NYPD Blue as Detective Andy Sipowicz from 1993 until the show ended in 2005.

His on-screen son, Theo Sipowicz, was played by Austin for seven seasons, beginning in 1999.

Austin, who was a child star but stopped acting in 2009, tragically passed away from a “fentanyl overdose” on February 11 at the age of 27. TMZ informed.

He was found in a homeless shelter in Los Angeles after struggling for many years to have a career in the music industry.

Austin displayed troubling behavior on social media in the weeks leading up to his death from an apparent drug overdose over the weekend.

Majors, once a beloved cherubic face frequently seen on the TV show NYPD Blue, had traded in his chubby cheeks for a patchy beard, tangled hair and apparently a pair of gold Grillz along his bottom teeth.

Majors, according to his IMDB page, had his last acting job in 2009 and had recently embarked on a music career under the name ‘Pope!’

In a series of recent posts, Majors promoted his music, a collection of dark house music, while championing existential themes, even mentioning fighting “demons of isolation” months before his death.

It is unclear if Majors was going through a period of homelessness at the time of his death or how long he had been at the shelter where he was reportedly found dead.

An autopsy on his body was scheduled for Monday and final toxicology results are expected in a few months.

His family released a statement calling Austin a “caring, artistic, brilliant and kind human being.”

“Austin was very happy and proud of his acting career,” they told TMZ. ‘He was an active Eagle Scout and graduated Salutatorian in high school. He later graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a passion for directing and producing music.’

Although he had not acted in over a decade, in 2020 Austin shared a photo on his Instagram of his Screen Actors Guild membership card, saying that he had been a member for twenty years.

Instead of acting, Majors had been pursuing a career in music. In numerous publications he described himself as a “struggling artist”.

His music was replete with minor keys, chaotic amelodic synth lines, and seemed to reflect a dark and scattered state of mind that surfaced in his social media posts.

Austin won the Young Artists Award for Outstanding Performance in a Television Series for his work on NYPD Blue in 2002.

The actor was also nominated for Best Performance in a Voice Over Role for Treasure Planet.

He was born on November 23 in California as Austin Setmajer.

Austin graduated second in his class in high school in 2013, and then attended school at the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts, majoring in Film and Television Production with a minor in Music Production.

Austin’s first role was in the 1997 film Nevada, playing a boy.

He then starred in The Price of Air in 2000, Providence in 2001, Treasure Planet in 2002, Bananas in 2004, before landing the role of Theo in NYPD Blue. He played Theo in 48 episodes from 1999 to 2004.

From there, Austin starred in Volare in 2004, ER in one episode in 2005, Hercules in two episodes in 2005, and Little Manhattan in 2005.

He had small roles in Bye Bye Benjamin, According to Jim Threshold, NCIS, The Ant Bully, American Dad!, Dead Silence, The Gray Man, and Desperate Housewives between 2005 and 2007.

In his later roles, Austin played Will Wright in the TV movie An Accidental Christmas in 2007, Hank in Night Writer in 2007, and How I Met Your Mother in one episode in 2009.