Frankie Faison

Infobox actor

---

imagesize =
caption =
birthdate = birth date and age|1949|6|10
birthplace = Newport News, Virginia
deathdate =
birthname =
spouse = Jane Mandel
othername =
homepage =

Frankie Russel Faison (born June 10, 1949), also often credited as Frankie R. Faison, is an American actor.

Biography

Career

Faison started his acting career in 1974 in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of "King Lear", with James Earl Jones in the title role. Faison's next role came in TV, in the small series "Hot Hero Sandwich" in 1979. Faison did make it to the big screen in 1980, when he appeared in "Permanent Vacation" however he was credited in the film as 'Man in Lobby'. A string of small roles followed, until 1986 when he played the part of Lt. Fisk in "Manhunter", also that year, he appeared in the Stephen King film "Maximum Overdrive". In 1988 he starred alongside Eddie Murphy and again James Earl Jones in "Coming to America", when he played the Landlord. Another big break came for Faison when he appeared as Barney in the classic thriller "The Silence of the Lambs". "The Silence of the Lambs" would later bring more work Faisons way, as he later appears as Barney in the sequel ("Hannibal") and the prequel ("Red Dragon"). In "The Silence of the Lambs" Faison gets the opportunity to work with legendary actors, such as Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. During the 1990-1991 season, he starred in the Fox situation comedy,"True Colors", with Stephanie Faracy and Nancy Walker, about an interracial couple. Following the first season he was replaced by Cleavon Little. In 1991 Faison again appears alongside Hopkins in the film "Freejack", which also stars Mick Jagger and "Maximum Overdrive" co-star Emilio Estevez. In 1998, he was a regular on the science-fiction TV show "Prey". Faison had a starring role as the Baltimore City Police Commissioner Ervin Burrell on the HBO drama "The Wire".

Faison is the only actor to appear in the first four Hannibal Lecter films. He played Lt. Fisk in "Manhunter", and Barney in "The Silence of the Lambs", "Hannibal", and "Red Dragon".

Most recently Faison played in Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns, a movie about a single mom takes her family to Georgia for the funeral of her father -- a man she never met. There, her clan is introduced to the crass, fun-loving Brown family. Faison played the role of Brown and Vera's brother, L.B. Brown.

Personal life

Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Carmena (née Gantt) and Edgar Faison. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/35/Frankie-Faison.html Frankie Faison Biography (1949-) ] ] He studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. He is married to Jane Mandel and they live in Montclair, New Jersey. He is unrelated to "Scrubs" and "Clueless" star Donald Faison.

Faison received an honorary Doctorate Degree from his alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University, in 2002 and was the keynote speaker at the commencement ceremony.

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0265670|name=Frankie Faison

Persondata
NAME= Faison, Frankie R
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 1949-6-10
PLACE OF BIRTH= Newport News, Virginia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=