Jonathan Frakes

Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Commander (later Captain) William Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent films and series. He has also 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. He is the credited author of the novel The Abductors: Conspiracy, which was ghostwritten by Dean Wesley Smith. Frakes began directing episodes of The Next Generation during its third season, and went on to direct the feature films Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and episodes of the later Star Trek series Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Picard. He later directed the feature films Clockstoppers (2002) and Thunderbirds (2004). He has since directed prolifically for television, including for The Librarian television films and series, Roswell, Leverage, and Burn Notice. Early life and education Frakes was born in 1952 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to Doris J. (née Yingling; 1926–2020) and James R. Frakes (1924–2002). Frakes's father was a professor of English literature and American studies at Lehigh University from 1958 to 2001, and was also a reviewer and critic for The New York Times Book Review. Frakes had a younger brother, Daniel, who died in 1997 from pancreatic cancer. Frakes was raised in Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. He attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, where he ran track, played with the Liberty High School Grenadier Band, and graduated in 1970.