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
Family	Sylvia Rossitano (mother) Unnamed Father (in hiding)

Francis "Frank" Rossitano is a fictional character played by Judah Friedlander on the American television series 30 Rock.

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 thick-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 would appear 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). According to Jack Donaghy, he owns a copy of every issue of Black Tail magazine.

In "Cougars," Frank questions his sexuality when he meets coffee delivery boy Jamie, Liz's romantic interest for the episode. However, after exploring a gay identity and making several unsuccessful attempts to court Jamie, Frank realizes that his same-sex attraction is limited to the one man: he is "gay for Jamie."

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

In Goodbye, My Friend, Frank decided to quit TGS and follow his original career plan of being a lawyer, as he'd dropped out of Fordham University School of Law. He was inspired by Jack, who also grew up without a father. However, Frank's mother (played by Patti LuPone) revealed to Jack that all the Rossitano men were Mafia lawyers. Because of this, they are all either in hiding or dead (Frank's father is hiding in Phoenix, Arizona). Jack eventually convinced Frank to return to TGS as a writer.

In Dealbreakers Talk Show#0001, Liz is busy with her talk show and puts Frank in charge of TGS, and he gradually becomes more and more like Liz, in behavior as well as appearance. They are wearing the same outfit by episode's end.

"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. Friedlander says he makes the hats for his character himself using phrases that he comes up with. In fact, in episode S03E18 in which Liz Lemon is forced to stay home, one of her final requests before being forced out of the building was to know what Frank's hat said.

Season 1

Ninja Expert, Done Deal, Extra Sausage, Joystick Master, Double Cheese, Arcade Champ, Bigfoot Expert, Hand Held, Over Easy, ESP Tutor, Kung Fu Beech, RODS, Karate Sluts, Beef 'N Bean, Smells, Extra Cheese, 1,000,000 Points, UFO Cop, Squeeze It, Cool As Ice, Time Travel Agent, Liz Rocks, Mash Potatoes, Beef Ravioli, Atomic Super Kick, Mystery Solver, Bahama Trapezoid, Alabama Legsweep, Force Field and Alien Knight Force.

Season 2

SeinfeldVision

• Coin Operated
• Kill Screen

Jack Gets in the Game

• Ready

The Collection

Frank does not appear in this episode

Rosemary's Baby

• Field Hockey Coach
• Balls

Greenzo

• And
• Lips
• Half Centaur

Somebody to Love

• Karate Prom

Cougars

• Olé
• Right Boot
• Got It
• Handy Man
• Beef
• Burrito
• Power Tool

Secrets and Lies

• Atlantis Lifeguard
• Harvard (On Porkpie Hat)
• Mom Expert (Worn by Toofer)
• Kayfabe
• Komurshl

Ludachristmas

• Shower Scene
• Ho Ho Horny

Episode 210

Frank does not appear in this episode

MILF Island

• Or

Subway Hero

• Exactly

Succession

• Trap Do_r
• Rescue Team

Sandwich Day

• Speling Expirt
• Sumo Dog

Cooter

• Slo-Bot

Season 3

Do-Over

• Former Cyclops
• Horny
• Horny (On Porkpie Hat)

Believe in the Stars

Frank does not appear in this episode

The One with the Cast of Night Court

Frank does not wear a trucker-hat in this episode

Gavin Volure

• Role Model

Reunion

Frank does not appear in this episode

Christmas Special

• Foley Artist (while wearing a Cactus Jack t-shirt (an alter-ego of professional wrestler Mick Foley))
• Bronx Golf Club

Senor Macho Solo

• Night Chicks

Flu Shot

Frank does not appear in this episode

Retreat to Move Forward

• Pinball Mechanic
• Phase 3
• Feelin' It

Generalissimo

Frank does not appear in this episode

St. Valentine’s Day

• Unintelligible. A seemingly random assortment of the usual lettering on a red and white cap. Different colored letters, some upside-down, tilted, or sideways, can be seen on the red field from far back on the crown, to (barely) visibly scattered across the brim.

Larry King

• Emotional Friend

Goodbye, My Friend

• Incompl_te
• Two Fare Zone

The Funcooker

• Reverse Pendulum

The Bubble

Frank does not appear in this episode

Apollo, Apollo

• Laser Disc

Cutbacks

• Game Changer
• An all-red hat with nothing on it

Jackie Jormp-Jomp

• Constant Craving

The Ones

• Space Gravy
• Flowers
• Fedora(complete with feather to match the fedoras worn by the rest of thr writers in there teams on pranksters)

The Natural Order

• Crop Octagon
• Drapes / Carpet (with "Drapes" on the top line in orange, and "Carpet" on the bottom line in black. Obliquely implies the sexually suggestive question, "Does the carpet match the drapes?" in reference to congruency between the hair on a woman's head, which may be dyed, and her pubic hair, which is usually not dyed.)

Mamma Mia

• Mute Button

Kidney Now!

Frank does not appear in this episode

Season 4

(incomplete)

Season Four

• Disco Fries

Into the Crevasse

• Spaceship Owner
• Not Guilty

Stone Mountain

• Wet to Activate
• Seemiller Grip
• Long Pips

Audition Day

• Because

The Problem Solvers

• Scanner

Dealbreakers Talk Show No. 0001

• Teenage Grandpa

Sun Tea

• Sdrawkcab
• Shark Cop
• First Class

Klaus and Greta

• One Tone (written on an all-red cap in red letters; barely visible without close inspection)
• I Tried

Black Light Attack!

• Soccer (in a flashback, accompanying Jack Donaghy to a baseball game)
• Karate Hockey
• In Training
• A blank cap (worn standing in the background while Lutz dances at the TGS wrap party, as 30 Rock credits roll)

Winter Madness!

• Wide and Tight
• Delete
• Night Beast

Verna

• Pound for Pound
• Mind the Gap
• Busway

Anna Howard Shaw Day

• Dial-Up Access
• Intestinal Fortitude

Future Husband

Frank appears only peripherally at writer's table in one scene; hat is not visible.

Don Geiss, America, and Hope

• Under the Bottom
• All the Way

Floyd

• Sort of Loaded
• Free Parking
• Tow Away Zone

Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter

• Monster Truck Wrestling
• Last Shot First
• DEFCON 50

Khonani

• Feet
• TBD

Argus

• Space Karate

Mother's Day

• Good Pieces

Emmanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land

• Pocket Dialer

I Do Do

• Single

Season 5

The Fabian Strategy

• Why.
• Bottom Feeder

When It Rains It Pours

• Long and Twisted

Let's Stay Together

• I Did It (silent answer to Frank's statement, "I don't know who did it," regarding a sign reading "El Tejon" -- "The Badger" -- that was placed on Liz Lemon's office door)