Jonathan Frakes

Early life and education

Frakes was born in 1952 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to Doris J. (née Yingling; 1926–2020) and James R. Frakes (1924–2002). Frakes's father was a professor of English literature and American studies at Lehigh University from 1958 to 2001, and was also a reviewer and critic for The New York Times Book Review. Frakes had a younger brother, Daniel, who died in 1997 from pancreatic cancer. Raised in Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, he attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, where he ran track, played with the Liberty High School Grenadier Band as a trombonist, and graduated in 1970.

Frakes attended Pennsylvania State University, where he was a member of the Thespians, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts in 1974. Although he had enjoyed performing in plays throughout junior high and high school, it was not until he entered Penn State that he began to take acting seriously. While he was working a summer job as an usher at the Festival of America Theatre, a director spotted him and suggested that he would make a great addition to his play's chorus. Transformed by the experience, Frakes immediately changed his major from psychology to theater.

Frakes then went on to attend Harvard University, where he became a member of the university's acting company, the Loeb Drama Center, and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 1976.

Career

Early work

For a time in the late 1970s, Frakes worked for Marvel Comics, appearing in costume as Captain America at conventions and other promotional events as well as for special appearances; he credits the experience in helping to hone his skills on interacting with fans on the Star Trek convention circuit. After graduating from Harvard, 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 directed by George Ferencz. His first Broadway appearance was in 1976 in the musical Shenandoah. Around the same time, he landed a role in the NBC soap opera The Doctors. When his character, Vietnam veteran Tom Carroll, was dismissed from the show, Frakes, urged by his agent, moved to Los Angeles, where he obtained guest spots in many of the top television series of the 1970s and 1980s, including The Waltons; Eight Is Enough; Hart to Hart; Barnaby Jones; The Dukes of Hazzard; Matlock; Quincy, M.E. and 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), and a supporting role in the equally short-lived primetime soap Paper Dolls in 1984. He also had recurring roles in Falcon Crest and the miniseries North and South. Frakes appeared in the 1986 miniseries Dream West.

''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987)

In 1987, Frakes was cast in the role of Commander William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was one of only two actors to appear in every episode (the other being Patrick Stewart). While appearing on the show, Frakes was allowed to sit in on casting sessions, concept meetings, production design, editing, and post-production, which gave him the preparation he needed to become a director. He directed eight episodes of the show and 21 episodes of other shows in the Star Trek universe. After the TV series ended in 1994, Frakes reprised his role in the Star Trek: The Next Generation films, two of which (Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection) he directed.

Frakes has appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks, making him the only Star Trek regular to appear in six Star Trek series. He has also directed episodes in six of the series (TNG, DS9, VOY, DIS, PIC, and SNW). Frakes is also one of six Star Trek actors (the other actors being Kate Mulgrew, Michael Dorn, George Takei, Avery Brooks and Majel Barrett) to lend their voices to the video game Star Trek: Captain's Chair, reprising his role as Riker when users visit the Enterprise-E bridge featured in the game.

After ''Star Trek''

Branching out from the Star Trek franchise, Frakes directed the 2002 family film Clockstoppers. However, his next film, 2004's Thunderbirds, was a box-office bomb, which he has said single-handedly almost destroyed what had been a successful directing career: "[My] name was taken off the lists ... I went from 60 to zero. It was a wake-up for me. I had been so positive, and so blessed, and so fortunate." It was several years before Frakes was given another opportunity to direct for television, and Thunderbirds remains his final theatrical directorial credit.

Much of Frakes's acting work after Star Trek has been 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 had a small, uncredited role in the 1994 film Camp Nowhere. Frakes also voiced Finn the Human's adult version in the episodes "Puhoy" and "Dungeon Train" on Adventure Time.

Frakes was an executive producer for the WB series Roswell, directed several episodes, and guest-starred in three episodes. His relationship with Star Trek is downplayed in the season 3 episode "Secrets and Lies", in which the alien character Max auditions for a guest role as an alien for Star Trek: Enterprise.

Frakes appeared on the 1994 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. He was also a member of "The Sunspots", a vocal backup group of Star Trek cast members that appeared on Brent Spiner's 1991 album Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back.

Frakes hosted The Paranormal Borderline, a short-lived television series on UPN, which dealt with the paranormal and mysterious happenings and creatures. In one episode, Frakes presented an interview of reporter Yolanda Gaskins with veteran astronaut Gordon Cooper, where they discussed the possibility of aliens having visited Earth in the past. He hosted seasons 2 through 6 of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, which also dealt with the paranormal world.

Frakes and Francis appeared together in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in the episode "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape" as creepily too-good-to-be-true couple, Tim and Amber Lake. He narrated the History Channel's That's Impossible.

In addition to Roswell, Frakes has directed episodes of Leverage, Castle, NCIS: Los Angeles, Burn Notice, Falling Skies and most recently Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Switched at Birth, Hit the Floor, The Librarians, and The Orville. So far, The Librarians has been one of the most positively rated and recommended work of his out of the previous, following the debut film The Librarian and the Quest for the Spear.

Frakes 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 has also previously taught directing and filmmaking courses at Rockport College, now called Maine Media College. He and Francis owned a home furnishings store in Belfast, Maine, called The Cherished Home, which closed in August 2012 due to her being too busy with her acting to spend adequate time at the store.

Personal life

Frakes and actress Debralee Scott met in the early 1980s at an exercise class in Los Angeles. They married after about a year and lived in a 2-bedroom house in Sherman Oaks, California.

Frakes first met actress Genie Francis on the set of the television soap opera Bare Essence, and again while filming the mini-series North and South. They began dating in 1985, became engaged in 1986, and married on May 28, 1988. The couple has two children.

In 2008, they moved from Belfast, Maine, to Beverly Hills, California,

Filmography

Acting credits

Directing credits

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

1. Jonathan Frakes. (1996). "The Abductors: Conspiracy". Tor.
2. (March 15, 2002). "James R. Frakes". [[The Morning Call]].
3. (May 19, 1997). "Daniel M. Frakes". The Morning Call.
4. Sylvia Lawler. (September 25, 1988). "Jonathan Frakes's career beams up Bethlehem actor scores as 'Star Trek' commander". The Morning Call.
5. Wright, William J.. (October 30, 2021). "Star Trek Actors Before They Made It Big". [[Static Media]].
6. Szymanski, Sarah. (Spring 2007). "Jonathan Frakes".
7. Juul, Matt. (August 12, 2022). "'Star Trek' actor Jonathan Frakes on Riker's return, beaming down to Boston".
8. "'Star Trek: Picard' stars Patrick Stewart, Gates McFadden And Jonathan Frakes MA '76 talked to Deadline about the emotional experience of returning to the bridge of the USS Enterprise.".
9. "Frakes, Jonathan 1952–".
10. Brian Cronin. (July 4, 2006). "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #58". [[Comics Should Be Good!]].
11. (1992). "The Star Trek The Next Generation Companion". [[Pocket Books]].
12. Sylvia Lawler. (May 5, 1986). "Making history: "North and South's" Jonathan Frakes is crafting his future– History yields a good part for Jonathan Frakes". The Morning Call.
13. Marsh, Calum. (January 24, 2019). "Star Trek Legend Jonathan Frakes on Discovery, Movie Jail, and Life as an Actor's Director".
14. "Frakes". Star Trek.
15. (2021-04-09). "Star Trek: Every Actor Who Also Directed Episodes Or Movies".
16. (August 18, 2019). "Trek Directors' School: Jonathan Frakes". Star Trek.
17. Vary, Adam B.. (2023-07-25). "Jonathan Frakes Looks Back at His 'Star Trek' TV Directing Career, From 'Next Generation' to the 'Strange New Worlds'-'Lower Decks' Crossover".
18. Rosenberg, Howard. (March 12, 1996). "'Borderline' Reveals Some Spooky Stuff". [[Los Angeles Times]].
19. {{YouTube. dvPR8T1o3Dc
20. "UFO Folklore Center – Transcript of Interview".
21. Turner Network. "Leverage Season 3 Episode Synopses". Turner Network.
22. Caldwell, Rob. (2006). "When Jonathan Frakes, TNG's Riker, lived in Maine". News Center Maine.
23. (October 2006). "Profile of Jonathan Frakes, 54". Portland Monthly.
24. "Jonathan Frakes Biography".
25. "Log In or Sign Up to View".
26. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/philadelphia-daily-news-debralee-scott/86633403/ "Debralee Scott, 1984 interview"]
27. "Jonathan Frakes".
28. "Jonathan Frakes List of Movies and TV Shows".
29. Couch, Aaron. (2021-08-17). "'Catwoman: Hunted' Sets Voice Cast (Exclusive)".
30. "Jonathan Frakes (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
31. Petski, Denise. (April 5, 2022). "'Star Trek: Picard': LeVar Burton & Michael Dorn Among 6 'Next Generation' Alums Joining Third & Final Season".
32. Oller, Jacob. (March 23, 2017). "10 Crazy Full-Motion Video Game Performances By Well-Respected Actors".
33. (August 24, 2017). "XCOM 2: War of the Chosen review".
34. Lovett, Jamie. (May 1, 2023). "Star Trek: Resurgence Brings Back Jonathan Frakes as William Riker".
35. Hibberd, James. (June 27, 2017). "Star Trek: Discovery scoop: Jonathan Frakes joins as director". [[Time Inc.]].
36. Spry, Jeff. (June 8, 2020). "Star Trek's Jonathan Frakes Wishes He Had Been on the Manned SpaceX Launch". [[SyFy Wire]].
37. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (July 23, 2022). "'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' & 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Plot Crossover Episode – Comic-Con".
38. Ulster, Laurie. (November 13, 2024). "Jonathan Frakes Talks Directing And Tawny Newsome Talks Writing For 'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy'".
39. (6 December 2023). "'Avatar: The Way Of Water', 'Oppenheimer', 'Star Trek' Series Lead Nominations For Genre-Focused Saturn Awards".
40. Pascale, Anthony. (February 4, 2024). "'Star Trek: Picard' Wins 4 Saturn Awards, 'Strange New Worlds' Wins 1".