Frank Rossitano

Frank Rossitano
File:Frank Rossitano from 30 Rock.jpg Frank Rossitano wearing a "Ninja Expert" hat
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	Tina Fey
Portrayed by	Judah Friedlander
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Staff writer on TGS

Frank Rossitano is a fictional character played by Judah Friedlander on the American television series 30 Rock. Despite his appearance in the opening credits, the character seems to have only a slightly bigger role than the other writers. Frank has appeared in every episode, though he didn't have any lines in the season finale "Hiatus".

Appearance on the show

After Liz Lemon, who is head writer and the protagonist of the series, Frank is the most prominently featured writer of the show-within-a-show. The character always appears wearing a trucker hat with a humorous phrase written on it, which is Friedlander's routine trademark in real life, and large think-lensed glasses. He lives with his mother and his rent money goes directly to her.

Frank seems to be rather childish, lazy and libidinous. He often makes fun of and plays pranks on the other characters, such as in "Jack-tor" where he and Toofer decided to mess with neurotic Jenna Maroney by telling her about a supposed rumor that Jack was looking to fire an actor. He also seems to be clever, quick-witted and more intelligent than he would seem to be at first glance. Based on "The Aftermath", both Liz and Pete apparently consider him "an idiot".

Frank was the only member of the show's staff to be happy with Tracy Jordan joining the show since he is the only one who enjoys Tracy's movies (Liz was quick to point out that he also enjoys some video of a monkey smelling its buttocks). He owns every copy of Black Tail magazine ever published.

It was revealed in the episode "The Break Up" that he had a racist grandfather after he watched Tracy and Toofer argue.

"Frank Talk"

According to "Frank Talk", a blog on the official 30 Rock website purportedly written by him, he originally came to work on the show when he sent a complaint letter to The Insane Girl Show and it was delivered to The Girlie Show by mistake. Apparently, Liz mistook his letter for an "avant-garde comedy piece" as she hired him a week later.

Frank's trucker hats

The character is noted for his colorful trucker hats which have different slogans on them, such as "NINJA EXPERT" and "JOYSTICK MASTER". Friedlander says he makes the hats for his character himself using phrases that he comes up with.[1]