Frank's Place 

A professor from Boston runs his late father's New Orleans restaurant.

Creator:

Hugh Wilson

Stars:

Tim Reid, Robert Harper, Daphne Reid

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Tim Reid	...	Frank Parrish 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Robert Harper	...	Sy 'Bubba' Weisberger 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Daphne Reid	...	Hanna Griffin 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Francesca P. Roberts	...	Anna-May 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Frances E. Williams	...	Miss Marie 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Virginia Capers	...	Bertha Griffin-Lamour 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Tony Burton	...	Big Arthur 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Charles Lampkin	...	Tiger Shepin 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Lincoln Kilpatrick	...	Reverend Tyrone Deal 22 episodes, 1987-1988
William Thomas Jr.	...	Cool Charles 22 episodes, 1987-1988
Don Yesso	...	Shorty 22 episodes, 1987-1988

Storyline

Frank Parish is a professor from Boston, who has not seen his father since he was two. 35 years later, he is told that his father died and that he owned a restaurant in New Orleans, which is now legally Frank's. Frank goes there and was going to go back and sell the restaurant to the employees, but Miss Marie feels that the restaurant is his legacy, so she has a curse placed on him that would take effect when he returns to Boston. And when he does all sorts things happen to him, so he returns to New Orleans. He tries to make a go of it but frankly, it's a different place for him. The one bright spot is Hannah Griffin, whom Frank has the hots for but unfortunately for him, she's enganged. But when Frank meets him, he thinks that he has a shot.

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | new orleans louisiana | african american | 

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Taglines:

A delicious new comedy. You'll be satisfied.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

El local de Frank

Company Credits

Production Co:

Viacom Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tim Reid and Hugh Wilson spent time in New Orleans for research. Many of things they encountered there were incorporated into the series. Chez Louisiane was based on a New Orleans restaurant named Chez Helene. The character, Big Arthur, was based on Chez Helene's owner, Austin Leslie. Other examples included the coffin with a phone and the slogan "Jesus Called" and being frightened by a mortician's cold hands.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Jonathan Winters/Kristen Banerjee (1988)

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Soundtracks

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
Performed by Louis Armstrong
(opening theme)

User Reviews

Victim of CBS

This show was a victim of CBS. As other posters here have so adroitly put it, this was a wonderful, well done show about a New Orleans restaurant. The setting, the characters, the little touches throughout were positively intoxicating. The episodes I remember are "The Bum Out Front" and "Dueling Voodoo". The "Voodoo" episode was especially memorable because the lead character literally had to use magic powder to undo a curse. I remember when the show aired, it did have low ratings, but I thought they would renew it and give it another shot, because the show was of such high quality. I thought CBS would do what NBC did when it renewed the low rated but high quality "Cheers" and "Hill St. Blues" and gave them the time to find their audience. It was canceled by CBS and I have never forgotten how disappointed I was at that decision. Part of the reason it was taken off of the air, was so that the leads actors in the series, Tim Reid and his wife Daphne Maxwell Reid could do a forgettable hour long detective show called "Snoops". "Frank's Place" truly was a victim of CBS, I'd love to see the series on DVD or on Nick at Night again.