Frank Cooper Jr.

Infobox soap character
series = Guiding Light
name= Frank Cooper Jr.
portrayer =


caption1 =
gender = Male

Frank Achilles Cooper Jr. is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama Guiding Light. He has been portrayed by Frank Dicopoulos since October 31, 1987.

Character information

Background

A young Frank was left alone to raise his sister, Harley. He got involved in crime to support them, but was soon set straight by Ross Marler. He turned to detective work and was lucky enough to have inherited his grandfather's diner to keep himself afloat. His compassionate nature has often put him at a disadvantage in dealing with women. He entered into a series of failed relationships with the community pariahs (Mindy Lewis, Dana Jones) before being played by Alan-Michael Spaulding during his seduction of Frank's arranged bride, Eleni Andros. He bought her a house, but destroyed it when he discovered that she had married Alan-Michael to get into the country. Eventually, she ran to Frank after she discovered her husband's twisted manipulations. The couple had a daughter, Marina, and worked through a difficult marriage as they fought over careers and lack of money. Finally, after rescuing her following her abduction in Greece, he decided to become a police officer.

What followed has been years of twisted case work, in which numerous members of his family have been raped and abducted. Combined with the stress of trying to bring down the local mob and the devious Annie Dutton's attempts to seduce him, his marriage succumbed and Eleni and Marina left him for the coast. His daughter would return to him several years later and the rambunctious teen gave him all sorts of trouble, as would his equally troublesome sister. Harley's relationship with Gus Aitoro was plagued by his involvements in crime. Frank's awkward attempts to subvert their relationship strained things within the Cooper family. He became involved with Darci, a former prostitute, and while investigating the link between Spaulding and the Antimonious drug ring, was framed for corruption by Alexandra Spaulding and thrown off the police force. Things continually got worse as Darci skipped town and a devastated Frank went after Alan Spaulding with a gun at the canceled wedding of Gus and Harley. As things quieted down, he began dating Olivia Spencer, unaware that she was involved with his father, Buzz. While this almost tore the family apart, he eventually insisted that his father go with her.