Francis Oscar "Frank" Barone is the husband of Marie, the father of Ray and Robert , father-in-law to Debra and Amy , and the grandfather to Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey in Everybody Loves Raymond. He is a retired bookkeeper and a registered real estate agent. He was played by late veteran character actor Peter Boyle.
Childhood and Background
Frank was born in 1932. It was revealed in the episode "Boy's Therapy " that he was disciplined heavily as a child, mentioning that his father, Joseph Barone, "hit him every day". Frank is a war veteran, having served in the US Army in the 1950-1953 Korean War, a fact that he constantly refers to throughout the series, recalling times of survival and how he came to be a "man". He married Marie in 1957, shortly after she became pregnant with Robert. His youngest son, Raymond, was born in 1960.
Frank worked as a bookkeeper for a number of years, including, for an unspecified period, for a firm known as Pelk Accounting. At the time Ray and Debra purchased the house opposite from Frank and Marie, Frank was still a registered real estate agent. When Ray and Robert were teenagers, up until the first season, Frank drove a 1972 Plymouth Valiant. He was largely an absentee figure in his son's childhood, working long hours. Thus, he displayed virtually no paternal affection.
Despite the fact that his father and grandfather were physically abusive disciplinarians, Frank vowed never to severely discipline Ray and Robert, saying: "I was always weaker than him", to which Robert replied "maybe you didn't want to be like him."
Personality
Throughout the series, Frank is stubborn, overly masculine, and lazy. He is seen sitting quite comfortably with his pants undone in the black leather armchair in Ray and Debra's sitting room, or else at home, sitting in the kitchen reading the paper, and ordering Marie to prepare his meals. He is a cantankerous and obnoxious man who has no problem with criticizing or openly insulting family members and strangers, in particular his wife, Marie. He calls men, particularly Ray and Robert, names like "Nancy", "Shirley", "Peaches", and "Mary" as they do not live up to his standards of what it takes to be a man. It was also revealed that he ran over Robert's toe with his car when the latter was only ten.
Frank readily advocates a rigidly macho, tough guy image. But he does have a soft side that is rarely ever seen, and which he himself denies. For example, in the episode Pet the Bunny, word got out that when Ray and Robert had a bunny, during their childhood, Frank would sit downstairs at night and pet it. When his friends heard about that, they made fun of him.
As well as his open displays of masculinity, Frank possesses socially-conservative values, particularly towards groups like gays, lesbians, hippies, Koreans, and Japanese. He often mutters to himself: "Japanese crap," and refuses any form of oriental cuisine. He refuses to accept or acknowledge anything not within the social norm, to which Marie quotes: "Frank lives in blissful ignorance." Much to the chagrin of other characters, Frank is not above illegal or duplicitous activities, such as gambling or operating an illegal cable splitter to steal cable from Ray.
Frank is famous for his output of hilarious one-liners. His two primary catchphrases that were heard through all nine seasons were: "Holy crap" and "Geezaloo." Frank is a skilled handyman in his spare time, repairing several faults in Ray and Debra's house, including the shower in the first season. He is also a history enthusiast, with a particular interest in the American Civil War.
Although he loves Marie, Frank is always fantasizing about another woman, Harriet Lichmann, Marie's bridge partner. Like Robert, he views Debra as physically attractive; in the episode "P, T, and A", when Debra dresses provocatively, and Frank, Marie, Robert, and Amy come over to Ray and Debra's house in the middle of the PTA meeting, announcing that Frank broke the TV, he says: "It's ok, I like this show!"
Relationship to other characters
- Father to Ray and Robert
- Father-in-law to Debra
- Husband to Marie
- Grandfather to Ally, Michael and Geoffrey
- Father-in-law to Amy
Memorable Quotes
- RAY: When was the last time you said "I love you"?
- FRANK (Incredulously): "I love you"?
- RAY: Yeah.
- FRANK: What, do you live in a freakin' fairyland or something?
- FRANK: What the hell's a "bustier"?
- FRANK: Holy crappin crap.
- MARIE: Far be it for me to take his side, but it's terrible what's happened to that store. They used to give you free samples all the time! And they also used to help you take your bags to the car.
- FRANK: Now I have to take you to the car myself.
- MARIE: I was on your side.
- ROBERT: You ever think about space? Is it really endless? If you had a spaceship, could you go flying and flying through space forever?
- FRANK: Why don't you give it a shot?
- MARIE: I guess two of those cannolis just had wings and flew away!
- FRANK: Yeah, well, make another one of those and climb aboard!
- FRANK (In audiotape recording): If I scratch it, it's because it itches!
- DEBRA: I'm sorry, but we just didn't think this was your kind of party.
- FRANK: I see booze!
- DEBRA: This party is kind of just for people who are looking for a spouse.
- FRANK: I'm in!
- MARIE: I kept everything from my past relationships.
- FRANK: She had to. It's tough to throw out a cave painting.
(after Debra talks about a friend with breast implants)
- MARIE: I just think it's sad when people start using surgery to make themselves bigger.
- FRANK: Marie did it the natural way. Pound cake!
- FRANK: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. My wife thinks I'm in the bathroom.
- MARIE: When's my birthday?
- RAY: Uh, uh, uh...
- MARIE: (sobbing) Oh, my God!
- RAY: Uh—December 9!
- FRANK: ...1802!
- MARIE: Look at you. You're a pig. You don't talk; you don't listen. But you love me, Frank.
(Pause)
- MARIE: Frank?
- FRANK: (Chewing) You don't need glasses for that.
- MARIE: (comments on how nobody pays attention to the old lady anymore because of Videotronic games)
- FRANK: Where can I get some Videotronic games?
- RAY: Which is why he had to pop out the back panel to get in.
- MARIE: (to Robert) YOU DRANK?!
- FRANK: YOU POPPED OUT THE BACK PANEL?!!
- MARIE: I've got a mind of my own you know, I can contribute I'm not just some... trophy wife!
- FRANK: You're a trophy wife? What contest in hell did I win?
- FRANK: I know the guys. We had the type in the War, first lieutenants. You know what friendly fire is? Well, sometimes it wasn't so friendly.
- RAY: They killed their own guys.
- FRANK: Not always. Sometimes they just sent them back to college—to the ones without a lot of steps!
- FRANK: (gets in bed, sees Marie wearing a masque) Jeez!
- MARIE: Oh, stop it, Frank.
- FRANK: A guy wants to go to bed and he gets attacked by a Kabuki!
- FRANK: (to Ray and Robert) You guys gotta get your wives out of my house; they're over there looking at furniture catalogs. I told Marie, "At your age, you shouldn't be looking at any furniture unless it has a lid!"