Biography: Jonathan Frakes was born on August 19, 1952 in the small town of Bellefonte, in central Pennsylvania. His father, James, and his mother, Doris, soon moved with Jonathan and his younger brother, Daniel, to the city of Bethlehem in eastern Pennsylvania. There, Dr. James Frakes taught English at Lehigh University, where he held the Fairchild chair in American Literature up until his death in 2002. Wh ... show all Jonathan Frakes was born on August 19, 1952 in the small town of Bellefonte, in central Pennsylvania. His father, James, and his mother, Doris, soon moved with Jonathan and his younger brother, Daniel, to the city of Bethlehem in eastern Pennsylvania. There, Dr. James Frakes taught English at Lehigh University, where he held the Fairchild chair in American Literature up until his death in 2002. While growing up, Jonathan was introduced to jazz by his father, and started playing the trombone when he was in fourth grade. As a child, Jonathan was always friendly, funny, and somewhat of an actor, according to a childhood friend.
In high school, Mr. Frakes played in the band and ran track. He graduated from Liberty High in Bethlehem in 1970. The day after he graduated, he started classes at Pennsylvania State University, enrolling as a psychology major. The next summer, he worked as an usher for the local theater, and observed his peers thoroughly enjoying acting. He was motivated to switch his major to theater arts, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1974. He then moved to Boston to attain his master's degree from Harvard University by 1976.
At this point, Mr. Frakes decided to move to New York City, and try to make it as an actor. The roles didn't come easy, so Jonathan had to take side jobs, including a waiter, a furniture mover (where he screwed up his back), and a stint as Captain America for Marvel Comics. Meanwhile, Jonathan won roles in the Broadway musical, Shenandoah, and on the soap opera, The Doctors, as Vietnam vet Tom Carroll from 1977 to 1978.
After urgings from his agent, Jonathan moved to Los Angeles in late 1978 to try his hand at television guest appearances. He guest-starred on several of the big primetime shows of the time, including Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Barnaby Jones, Quincy, Highway to Heaven, The Waltons, and The Dukes of Hazzard.
During the 80s, Jonathan landed a starring role in a primetime soap opera, Bare Essence, which had spun off from a successful miniseries of the same name. The show didn't take off with the viewers, however, and was canceled soon after. He went back to guest appearances for two more years, until he got the part of Stanley Hazard in the civil war epic, North and South. After spending more than six months filming all over the southern United States, he and his co-star, Genie Francis, fell in love. He had met Genie three years before when they co-starred in Bare Essence. During that time, he and Genie didn't have much to do with each other, other then making fun of her hair, according to her. But three years later, he and Genie were an item.
In early 1987, Jonathan went to an audition for a new television series after urging from his soon-to-be wife and her family. After six weeks, and seven auditions, he won the role that would bring him worldwide fame, that of Commander William Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Around this time, he and Genie announcedtheir engagement. They would have to postpone their wedding twice because of his job, but were finally married in the first season hiatus on May 28, 1988. All of his new co-stars attended the wedding along with Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry.
In the seven years Mr. Frakes starred on Star Trek, he also discovered his talent for directing. He directed eight episodes in all, and was invited to direct on the Next Generation spin-offs, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.
The day after his 42nd birthday, on August 20, his son, Jameson Ivor Frakes was born. Jameson is named after both his grandfathers, the late James Frakes, and the late Ivor Francis, Genie's father. During this time, Jonathan actually turned down work, preferring to stay at home and raise his son with his wife. For the next two years, he did a few guest appearances on television.
In 1996, it was announced that he was to be the director of the next Star Trek film, First Contact. He received critical praise for his work on the film, making it the highest grossing film of the franchise to date. He formed a production company, Goepp Circle Productions, named after the street he lived on in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Just two days after his ninth wedding anniversary in 1997, Elizabeth Francis Frakes was born. Sadly, just two weeks prior, Jonathan's brother, Daniel, passed away from pancreatic cancer.
In 1998, he was asked to direct the ninth Star Trek film, Insurrection. Following the mixed reviews of this film, he continued to direct in movies and television, act in a few non-Star Trek roles, and starred in the tenth Star Trek film, Nemesis. hide |
