A familiar face on TV, stage, and in films, playing in everything from sitcoms to Shakespeare, is right from the Chestnut Avenue area in Newport News, VA. It belongs to Frankie Russell Faison. Frankie R, Faison currently appears in an episode of the CBS drama, The Good Wife, or as Richard Evans in One Life to Live, but you have probably spotted him in a number of other roles: Nurse Barney Mathews, in the movies, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Red Dragon with Anthony Hopkins.
The Landlord in Coming to America with Eddie Murphy, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, and Arsenio Hall.
He was Coconut Sid in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. He played Commissioner Ervin H. Burrel in the HBO series, The Wire, starring Wood Harris, Idris Elba, Sonja Sohn, and Dominic West.
Faison has also appeared in Oz, Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, All My Children (Frank Dawson), Prey (Frank Peterson), True Colors (Ron Freeman), Grey’s Anatomy, New York Undercover, and Cosby among other TV shows.
Some of the movies Frankie has performed in are Mississippi Burning with Gene Hackman and William Defoe; Showtime with Robert De Niro; The Cookout, with Ja Rule, Jennifer Lewis, Farrah Fawcett, and Tim Meadows; White Chicks with Shawn and Marlon Wayans; The Rich Man’s Wife with Halle Berry and Clive Owens; The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, and Ben Gazarra; and he played L.B. Brown in Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns with David Mann, Angela Bassett and Margaret Avery.
This prestigious actor kicked of his acting career in 1974 in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear starring James Earl Jones.
Faison received an honorary Doctorate Degree from his alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University, in 2002 and was the keynote speaker at the commencement ceremony, where he said, "As an actor I live a life of ups and downs, highs and lows, feast or famine. But when you remember who you are and where you came from, you are prepared to live in dignity as you experience [life's] ups and downs." Frankie Russell Faison has never forgoten he came from Huntington High School in Newport News, VA. where he learned to cherish his role as a boisterous class clown.
Faison went on to study acting at the graduate level at New York University, obtaining an M.F.A. in 1974 and performing with The Negro Ensemble Company in New York in various productions.
Sandra Bullock wins Oscar as Best Actress for her portrayal in "The Blind Side."
Sandra Bullock Gives $1 Million To Haitian Earthquake Victims
Sandra Bullock has donated a million dollars for the victims of the Haitian earthquake. "The Blind Side" actress, who recently won Best Actress at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, has pledged the generous amount for the catastrophe relief.
Her contribution will go to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency operations in Port-Au-Prince.
She said in a statement, "I wanted to ensure that my donation would be used immediately to meet the needs of the Haitian people affected by this catastrophic event."
