Jonathan Frakes

Infobox actor
name = Jonathan Frakes

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imagesize = 225px
caption = Frakes at a convention in Germany in 2005
birthdate = birth date and age|1952|8|19
location = Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
deathdate =
birthname = Jonathan Scott Frakes
othername =
spouse = Genie Francis (1988–present)
notable role ="William T. Riker" in ""

Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series "".

Moving on to directing in recent years, Frakes directed and also starred in "", which earned him the nickname "Two-Takes" Frakes for his speed.cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000408/bio|title=Biography for Jonathan Frakes|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=2007-12-30]

He is also the author of a book called "The Abductors: Conspiracy". [cite book|title=The Abductors: Conspiracy|author=Jonathan Frakes|coauthors=Dean Wesley Smith|publisher=Tor|location=New York|date=1996|isbn=978-031286208-4]

Personal life

Frakes was born in Bellefonte, in central Pennsylvania to Doris J. Yingling and James R. Frakes, Ph.D. [ [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/frakes.htm 1 ] ] He grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. He is a 1970 graduate of Bethlehem's Liberty High School, where he ran track and played with the famous Liberty High School Grenadier Band. [cite news|author=Sylvia Lawler|title=Jonathan Frakes' career beams up Bethlehem actor scores as 'Star Trek' commander|publisher=The Morning Call|location=Allentown, PA|date=September 25, 1988|pages=T.01] Frakes received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Theater Arts at Penn State University in the early 1970s, where he was a member of the Thespians and also was a member of the Penn State Blue Band. He continued his studies at Harvard and spent several seasons performing at the Loeb Drama Center.

For a time in the 1970s, Frakes worked for Marvel Comics, appearing at conventions in costume as Captain America. [cite news|url=http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/07/04/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-58/|publisher=Comics Should Be Good!|title=Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #58|date=2006-07-04|author=Brian Cronin]

His father, James R. Frakes, was a well-respected book critic for the "New York Times Book Review", a book editor, and professor of English literature at Lehigh University from 1958–2001, where he was the Edmund W. Fairchild Professor in American Studies. He died in early 2002. [cite news|title=James R. Frakes|publisher=The Morning Call|location=Allentown, PA|date=March 15, 2002|pages=B.10] His mother, Doris, still lives in the Bethlehem area. Frakes had a younger brother, Daniel, who died in 1997 from pancreatic cancer. [cite news|title=Daniel M. Frakes|publisher=The Morning Call|location=Allentown, PA|date=May 19, 1997|pages=A.09] He remains close with his niece and goddaughter Julia Frakes, Daniel's daughter. Julia is a fashion contributor to PAPER Magazine.

Frakes married soap opera actress Genie Francis on May 28, 1988. They live in Maine with their son, Jameson (Jamo) Ivor Frakes, born in 1994, and daughter, Elizabeth (Eliza) Francis-Frakes, born in 1997. Jonathan works with The Workshops, The Waterfall Arts Center and The Saltwater Film Society, all located in Maine, where he teaches classes on film direction. He co-owns a home furnishings store with his wife in Belfast, Maine called "The Cherished Home". [ [http://www.thecherishedhome.com/ http://www.thecherishedhome.com/] "Thecherishedhome.com" ] Frakes is one of the best known tall actors at 6 ft 4 in (193 cm).

Film and television career

Frakes moved to New York City and became a member of "The Impossible Ragtime Theater." In that company, Frakes did his first off-Broadway acting in Eugene O'Neill's "The Hairy Ape". His first Broadway appearance was in "Shenandoah". At the same time, he landed a role in the NBC soap opera "The Doctors". When his character was dismissed from the soap, Frakes moved to Los Angeles, California and played guest spots in many of the top television shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including "The Waltons", "The Dukes of Hazzard", "Matlock", and Steven Bochco's "Hill Street Blues". He played the part of Charles Lindbergh in a 1983 episode of "Voyagers!" titled "An Arrow Pointing East". In 1983, he had a role in the short-lived NBC prime time soap opera "Bare Essence" (which also starred his future wife Genie Francis). He also had recurring roles in "Falcon Crest" and "North & South" before signing for the role of Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation". [cite news|author=Sylvia Lawler|publisher=The Morning Call|title=Making history: "North and South's" Jonathan Frakes is crafting his futurendash History yields a good part for Jonathan Frakes|location=Allentown, PA|date=May 5, 1986|pages=D.01|url=http://www.jf-fansite.de/interview08.htm]

He has done animation voice acting, most notably voicing the recurring role of David Xanatos in the animated series "Gargoyles", and he provided the voice of his own head in a jar in the "Futurama" episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before." He hosted "" and had a small, uncredited role in the 1994 movie "Camp Nowhere". He also reprised his role of Riker for a "Next Generation" cutaway on an episode of "Family Guy" that also featured his co-stars Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn as their respective roles of Picard and Worf.

Frakes is one of only two "Star Trek" regulars to appear on four different "Star Trek" series (', ', ' and '). (The only other regular to match or exceed that number is Majel Barrett-Roddenberry who appeared in all six television series.) He has also directed episodes in three of them ("TNG", "DS9" and "VOY") and was a popular and innovative director on the Star Trek set, often finding completely new ways to shoot the show's familiar sets. His directing career has included the films ' and '. Additionally, Frakes was an executive producer for the WB show "Roswell", directed several episodes and guest-starred in three episodes. His relationship with Star Trek is made light of in the episode "Secrets and Lies", in which the alien character Max ironically auditions for a guest role as an alien for "Star Trek: Enterprise".

Outside of acting, Frakes appeared on the Phish album "Hoist", playing trombone on the track titled "Riker's Mailbox." Frakes would occasionally perform on the trombone during his tenure as Commander Riker, drawing on his college marching band experience.

Frakes hosted the television series "Paranormal Borderline", which dealt with the paranormal and mysterious happenings and creatures. The show was roundly criticized and pulled off the air after it was found out that footage showing a yeti from the Himalayas was purposely faked by the show and its producers-Fox television. The "Snowwalker" footage, as it is known, purportedly shows a yeti as it is crossing through a valley in the Himilayas, walking in front of a Belgian couple who are traversing the area on skis. The network finally admitted the hoax, and Frakes distanced himself from the show.

Acting filmography

Feature Films

*"" (2006) - uncredited as 'Carl'
*"Thunderbirds" (2004) - uncredited as 'Policeman'
*"Clockstoppers" (2002) - uncredited as 'Janitor'
*"Star Trek Nemesis" (2002) - CAPT William T. Riker
*"" (1998) - CDR William T. Riker
*"" (1996) - CDR William T. Riker
*"Star Trek Generations" (1994) - CDR William T. Riker

Television Series

*"Family Guy" - "Peter's Got Woods" - CDR William T. Riker (voice)
*"Futurama" - "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" - Himself (voice)
*"" - CDR William T. Riker
*"" - LT Tom Riker
*"" - CDR William T. Riker/LT Tom Riker
*"" - CDR William T. Riker
*"North and South" - Stanley Hazard
*"Matlock" - D.A. Park
*"Bare Essence" - Marcus Marshall
*"Beulah Land" - Adam Davis
*"Lois & Clark" - Tim Lake in episode "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape"
*"Voyagers!" -Charles Lindbergh in episode "An Arrow Pointing East"
*"Harper Valley" - Clutch Breath in episode "Low Noon"
*"Dukes of Hazzard" - Jamie Lee Hogg in episode "Mrs. Daisy Hogg"
*"The Waltons" - Ashley Longworth Jr.
*"" - Himself (presenter)
*"Gargoyles" - David Xanatos, Coyote (voice)
*"Five Mile Creek" - Adam Scott in two episodes.
*"Search for Alien Planets" - (voice)(presenter)
*"Highway to Heaven"
*"Wings"
*"Paranormal Borderline-host"

Directing filmography

Feature films

*"" "(announced)"
*"" (2006)
*"Thunderbirds" (2004)
*"Clockstoppers" (2002)
*"" (1998)
*"" (1996)
*"" (1996) - interactive movie

Individual episodes of television series

*"Masters of Science Fiction"
*"The New Twilight Zone"
*""
*"University Hospital"
*""
*""
*""
*"Roswell"
*"Eight Is Enough (Season 4 Episode 10)"

References

External links

*
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/249/000025174/ Jonathan Frakes profile] at NNDB

Persondata
NAME= Frakes, Jonathan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Frakes, Jonathan Scott
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH= 1952-8-19
PLACE OF BIRTH= Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=