Frank's Place

For the XM Satellite Radio channel formerly called "Frank's Place", see High Standards (XM).

Frank's Place
Genre	Comedy-drama
Created by	Hugh Wilson
Written by	Richard Dubin David Chambers Samm-Art Williams Hugh Wilson
Directed by	Neema Barnette Richard Dubin Stan Lathan Max Tash Hugh Wilson
Starring	Tim Reid Daphne Maxwell Reid Tony Burton Virginia Capers Robert Harper
Theme music composer	Louis Alter Eddie DeLange
Opening theme	"Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" performed by Louis Armstrong
Composer(s)	Richard Kosinski
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	22
Production
Executive producer(s)	Tim Reid Hugh Wilson
Producer(s)	David Chambers Richard Dubin
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 14, 1987 (1987-09-14) – March 22, 1988 (1988-03-22)

Frank's Place is an American comedy-drama series which aired on CBS for 22 episodes during the 1987-1988 television schedule. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive produced by Wilson and series star (and fellow WKRP in Cincinnati alumnus) Tim Reid.

Plot

Set in New Orleans, Frank's Place chronicles the life of Frank Parrish (Tim Reid), a well-to-do African-American professor at Brown University, an Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, who inherits a restaurant, Chez Louisiane. In the premiere, Frank travels to New Orleans intending to sell the restaurant. But when Frank returns to New England, the life he's known there suddenly goes inexplicably haywire. Waitress Emeritus (she waits only on customers of twenty years or more of patronage) of Chez Louisiane, Miss Marie (Frances E. Williams) has a voodoo spin (curse) put on Frank ensuring that he will come back to carry on his family's business. Feeling he has no choice, Frank returns to New Orleans and makes many discoveries about Black culture in New Orleans, the differences between northern and southern lifestyles, and himself.

On its surface, Frank's Place was a fish-out-of-water story, like The Beverly Hillbillies or Green Acres. However, the series' storylines featured weightier topics such as race and class issues.

Supporting cast

• Daphne Maxwell Reid (Tim Reid's real-life wife) as Hanna Griffin
• Tony Burton as Big Arthur
• Virginia Capers as Mrs. Bertha Griffin-Lamour
• Robert Harper as Bubba Weisberger
• Lincoln Kilpatrick as Reverend Deal
• Charles Lampkin as Tiger Shepin
• Francesca P. Roberts as Anna Mae
• Don Yesso as Shorty La Roux
• William Thomas, Jr. as Cool Charles

Production

Unlike most sitcom productions of the era, Frank's Place was filmed with a single camera and used no laugh track.

Theme song

The series theme song was Louis Armstrong's classic "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?". The look of the restaurant was inspired by Austin Leslie's Chez Helene restaurant in New Orleans.

Episodes

Main article: List of Frank's Place episodes

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Recipient
1988	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series	Hugh Wilson For episode: "The Bridge"
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special	Michael Ballin, Marty Church, Lenora Peterson, and M. Curtis Price For episode "Food Fight"
		Outstanding Guest Performer in a Comedy Series	Beah Richards For the role of Mrs. Varden in "The Bridge"
1988	Humanitas Prize	30 Minute Category	Hugh Wilson
1990	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Tim Reid
1988	Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Comedy	–
1988	Viewers for Quality Television Awards	Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series	Tim Reid

DVD release

In October 2008, CNN.com reported that because of music clearance issues, a DVD release would be unlikely. However, on November 11, 2008, TV Shows on DVD reported that plans are underway for an eventual DVD release, although Tim Reid has said that, due to the prohibitive costs of the music rights, a new musical score will be recorded that will "recreate the mood of the music." He adds, "it has to be the mood of the show or I'd rather not do it." No date has been yet given for a release.

External links

• Frank's Place entry at The Museum of Broadcast Communications
• Frank's Place at the Internet Movie Database
• Frank's Place at TV.com
• FranksPlace at epguides.com