While Frank was a casual watcher of Family Feud, another great Goodson-Todman game show, he did not want anyone associated with that show to appear on TPIR, although he had no problem with the Feud theme as the intro music to Grand Game and, for one time only, Plinko. Apparently this extended to the announcer's booth, because Frank was known to intimidate Feud announcers Gene Wood and Burton Richardson when they announced on TPIR. He wanted to chase Ray Combs off the stage, but agreed to hold his tongue because he knew that Bob had struck up quite a friendship with him, and that Ray often sent invitations to Bob and the rest of the TPIR staff to play on a celebrity edition of the Feud. Bob offered Frank a spot on the TPIR team, but Frank always refused, because he didn't want to upstage his own brother on Ray's show. Instead, he sat in the audience, cheering Bob's side on to victory.
Sometime in 1985, after Johnny Olson had died, Frank decided to pay a visit to Press Your Luck, because he was on a mission to replace Johnny O as quickly as possible, and he didn't want Gene Wood to take the job. So when he heard Rod Roddy do his opening spiel on PYL, Frank had found his man. Frank convinced Rod to do an on-air audition for TPIR, and at Rod's first audition, he introduced the new announcer as "the best damn thing I've ever found! If you hire this man, he won't let you down." The producers took his word, and by 1986, Rod became the permanent announcer.
Flash-forward to 2003, when the show lost Rod and was forced to search for a new announcer again. When Burton Richardson was asked to fill in, Frank often said: "You will be sorry if you hire Burton!" When asked why, he simply said that Burton was a much better fit for Family Feud, which he is! Anyway, a flurry of announcers took their place behind the mic, and the only person Frank hated more than Burton was Daniel Rosen (whom he called "too bleeping annoying"). Although Frank had been pushing for Randy West to get the job permanently, he changed his mind when he ran across a then-unknown weatherman from Palm Springs named Rich Fields. Well, Frank had heard the name before, but he couldn't place a face with it. Then he remembered that day in 1978 when an 18-year-old Rich scared Johnny O with his "Come on Down!" The minute Johnny said: "Gimme back that microphone, kid, before Mr. Barker hears you," Frank rushed out on stage and grabbed Rich by the shoulder. Then he escorted Rich back to his seat, where he told the young Fields: "I know you want Johnny's job so badly, but he'll be around for a little bit longer. Come back whenever you're ready." To this day, Rich doesn't like to talk about what happened after he yelled one of the show's most famous catchphrases into the microphone. Rich said, "Hey, aren't you that guy who grabbed me on stage? You know, my shoulder is still sore from that!" Frank apologized, and offered Rich the announcing job. Rich would accept the job on one condition: that Frank wouldn't grab him by the shoulder ever again. Frank agreed, and the show got its new announcer.
Other contributions of Frank included helping Roger set up the pricing games, and doing some minor things with the props, such as hiding the ball behind whatever shell his mind told him to in Shell Game. He did the same thing with hiding the money in the boxes for Fortune Hunter and 1/2 Off, as well as the money slips on the big Punchboard.
Another little-known fact about Frank is that he was an accomplished musician, and that was him playing the piano in the first think cues for Race Game and Switcheroo. He also played piano on the second Race Game cue (aka Early Happy Days), as well as the synthesizer for the cue you hear in Check Game, Make Your Move and Cover Up. The quirky Range Game cue was his first musical contribution to the show. So Frank was to the show's think music what Edd Kalehoff was to the rest of the songs (main theme, prize cues, etc.).
About the only guy that Frank liked other than Bob was Bill Cullen, because they worked together on the first TV TPIR. He tried to give Drew Carey a chance per Bob's request, but after one year, he lost interest in the show, and he resigned in 2008, having worked a combined 45 years on the show. However, Frank thanked Drew for mentioning him, Ezekiel, Jebediah and Bob after watching the last-ever playing of Barker's Bargain Bar, so all appears to be forgiven.
In short, while Bob is often called the star of TPIR, Frank was the man behind the curtain who made sure that the show was running smoothly. Now, with the Barker brothers and Roger Dobkowitz gone, it's fallen apart, according to some of the doomsayers that populate Golden-Road.net! For this, I say shame on you, and I know for a fact those three great men will agree with me there!
