Frank Barone

Living… with his wife Marie and adult son Robert in Lynbrook, Long Island. One of Frank’s proudest moments was figuring out how to set up the illegal cable splitter so he could steal cable from his other son Ray, who lives across the street.

Profession… former bookkeeper and real estate agent. Frank was still in real estate when Ray and his wife Debra bought the house across the street. Soon after that Frank retired so he could complain full-time.

Interests... Frank takes his membership in the Order of the Caribou Lodge very seriously, recently being named Man of the Year. It’s a good group, a way to keep busy, and a way to get away from Marie for a bit every week.

Relationship Status… married too long to care, not long enough to stop complaining about it. But Marie knew that the way to Frank’s heart really was through his stomach: “She started talking about marriage, and I told her to go to hell. [Then] I remember hearing through the grapevine that your mother was going to have dinner at Chuck Pacarello's. Now, your mother's cooking, that's something... special. And, I figured, she was only gonna cook like that for me. So, I went to Chuck Pacarello's and punched the headlights off of his car. I spent the night in the hospital, picking glass out of my arm.”

Challenge… accepting the way things are versus the way he wants them to be. Often this simply involves biting his tongue – something that Frank is not wont to do. Other times it’s overcoming his hard shell and displaying, even if he has to fake it, some emotional response for the good of his family. It’s hard for him to change at this point. By making fun of everything at all times, life becomes easier to accept.

Personality… confrontational and stubborn. Frank will go over his Korean War stories no matter how many times his family’s heard them. He’s definitely funny, but his wit is typically biting; insult humor is his stock in trade. He knows which buttons to press and loves to press them, especially with Marie. Frank is the definitive lovable, grumpy old man. Well, more grumpy than lovable, but he’s unquestionably old.