Frank Simons is from the small town of McKinleyville, in the heart of Northern California's Redwood Empire. He graduated High School in 1979, and immediately began attending San Francisco State University. Frank graduated SF State in 1983 with Bachelor of Arts Degree's in Drama (Acting & Directing emphasis) and in History (American emphasis). While at State, in Frank's Junior year, he won "Best Actor" for his portrayal of "Bird Boot" in the Tom Stoppard comedy "The Real Inspector Hound" for the premier "Brown Bag" group. His senior year he was selected as one of the Directors of the Brown Bag program. His Senior (1983) year he also began working in the professional theatre in San Francisco. He caught the eye of his first Agent in late 1984, while performing at the "One Act Theatre Company." Local Stage highlights included playing "St. Eusebius" in "Noonday Demons" by Peter Barnes, and "Algernon" in "The Importance of Being Earnest." In early 1985 Frank auditioned for the Disney Channel film "Blue Yonder" (later renamed "Time Flyer") to play a young Art Carney. The message that he got the part was on his answering machine before he got home from the audition.
After shooting "Time Flyer" Frank moved to Los Angeles, and has utilized it as his Acting base ever since. The late 1980's and early 1990's saw Frank begin a profitable commercial career sprinkled with occasional TV movie starring roles and much local Theatre. Highlights include co-starring with Peter Falk in one of the first of the new Columbo movies of the week. Many national commercials for products as diverse as Hyundai autos, Apple Computers, and Burger King. A commercial highlight was working with Magic Johnson as a spokesman for Target Stores. On the local stage Frank won a "Dramalouge" for his portrayal of "Malviolo" in "Twelfth Night," and was selected as one of the "Actors of the Year" by the Leader Newspapers for his portrayal of "Dr. Van Helsinki" in "Dracula - the Comedy." Frank was regularly seen on Ivan Spiegel's various stages at the Burbage Theatre, starring in many west coast premiers.
The mid and late 1990's were a continuation of commercial success, occasional television roles, and much local Theatre. Notable television highlights include playing the American Prophet Edgar Cayce in "Ancient Prophecies" for NBC, a guest spot on the sit-com "Family Matters," and starring in a series of promo's for NBC as the head of the network promoting various programs. More than 30 national and regional commercials during this period for such varied products as Wrigley's Gum (still his number one money maker - a delightful high 5 figure run - check for this spot on Frank's reel on this site's Home page) General Motors, and Snickers. On the local stage Frank won "Best Actor" for the his performance as "Sidney Bruhl" in "Deathtrap" for the 1998 season of the Palos Verde Players.
The early and mid 2000's saw Frank continue making commercials, occasional TV guest appearences, and numerious Stage performances. Notable television and film performances included playing the lead comic villain, the evil "Dr. Oddlike" in the family friendly comedy "Soccer Dog: European Cup" for Columbia, and performing on the short lived "Orlando Jones Show" for the FX Network. National and regional commercials included spots for Lexis, Budweiser, and a series of dealer spots for Buick. A notable commericial at this time was for Quakerstate Motor Oil opposite Denis Leary. The spot (included on Frank's reel), was even incorporated into a skit for Comedy Central's Roast of Mr. Leary. Many local stage highlights, including playing "Scrooge" in "A Christmas Carol" (2006) for International City Theatre in Long Beach.
The late 2000's, including 2010, have been a busy, exciting, time - commericals, voice overs, television, and stage appearences. In 2007 Frank played the wonderfully corrupt and corpulant Belgian Ambassador in the debut of "Film Chinois" for GTC Burbank. "Film Chinois" won the coveted "Ovation" award for "Best New Play" in Los Angeles for 2007. Added televison credits through 2010 include playing the high school physics teacher on 90210, and the wonderfully eccentric "Professor Dippington" on Disney's "Imagination Movers" show. In 2009, Frank played "Juror # 3" (the Lee J.Cobb part), in a dynamic revival of "12 Angry Men" for GTC. 2010 finally saw Frank have a spot on the Superbowl - for Careerbuilder dot com, and most recently he voiced a giraffe and a turtle in a spot for Charter Communications. Keeping on Keeping on :)
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