32 Facts About Jonathan Frakes

Jonathan Scott Frakes was born on August 19,1952 and is an American actor and director.

Jonathan Frakes is best known for his portrayal of Commander William Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent films and series.

Jonathan Frakes has hosted the anthology series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, voiced David Xanatos in the Disney television series Gargoyles, and narrated the History Channel documentary, Lee and Grant.

Jonathan Frakes is the credited author of the ghostwritten novel The Abductors: Conspiracy.

Jonathan Frakes later directed the feature films Clockstoppers and Thunderbirds.

Jonathan Frakes has since directed prolifically for television, including for the The Librarian television films and series, Roswell, Leverage, and Burn Notice.

Jonathan Frakes's father was a professor of English literature and American studies at Lehigh University from 1958 to 2001, and was a reviewer and critic for The New York Times Book Review.

Jonathan Frakes had a younger brother, Daniel, who died in 1997 from pancreatic cancer.

Jonathan Frakes was raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

Jonathan Frakes attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, where he ran track and played with the Liberty High School Grenadier Band.

Jonathan Frakes attended Pennsylvania State University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts in 1974.

Jonathan Frakes moved to New York City and became a member of the Impossible Ragtime Theater.

In that company, Jonathan Frakes did his first off-Broadway acting in Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape directed by George Ferencz.

Jonathan Frakes had recurring roles in Falcon Crest and the miniseries North and South.

In 1987, Frakes was cast in the role of Commander William T Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Jonathan Frakes was one of only two actors to appear in every episode.

Jonathan Frakes directed eight episodes of the show and 21 episodes of the Star Trek universe.

Jonathan Frakes has made appearances 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.

Jonathan Frakes has directed episodes in five of the series.

Jonathan Frakes is one of six Star Trek actors 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.

Much of Jonathan Frakes' 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".

Jonathan Frakes had a small, uncredited role in the 1994 film Camp Nowhere.

Jonathan Frakes voiced Finn the Human's adult version in the episodes "Puhoy" and "Dungeon Train" on Adventure Time.

Jonathan Frakes was an executive producer for the WB series Roswell, directed several episodes, and guest-starred in three episodes.

Jonathan Frakes appeared on the 1994 Phish album Hoist, playing trombone on the track titled "Riker's Mailbox".

Jonathan Frakes was 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.

Jonathan 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, Jonathan 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.

Jonathan Frakes hosted seasons 2 through 4 of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, which dealt with the paranormal world.

Jonathan Frakes has previously taught directing and filmmaking courses at Rockport College, now called Maine Media College.

Jonathan 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.

The couple has two children, Jameson Ivor Jonathan Frakes, born in 1994, and Elizabeth Frances Jonathan Frakes, born in 1997.