Editing Jonathan Frakes (section)

=== Early work ===
For a time in the late 1970s, Frakes worked for [[Marvel Comics]], appearing in costume as [[Captain America]] at conventions and other promotional events as well as for special appearances; he credits the experience in helping to hone his skills on interacting with fans on the ''Star Trek'' convention circuit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/07/04/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-58/|publisher=[[Comics Should Be Good!]]|title=Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #58|date=July 4, 2006|author=Brian Cronin|access-date=December 4, 2006|archive-date=February 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214222659/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/07/04/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-58/|url-status=dead}}</ref> After graduating from Harvard, Frakes moved to [[New York City]] and became a member of the [[Impossible Ragtime Theater]]. In that company, Frakes did his first off-Broadway acting in [[Eugene O'Neill]]'s ''[[The Hairy Ape]]'' directed by George Ferencz. His first Broadway appearance was in 1976 in the musical ''[[Shenandoah (musical)|Shenandoah]]''. Around the same time, he landed a role in the [[NBC]] [[soap opera]] ''[[The Doctors (1963 TV series)|The Doctors]]''.<ref name="TNGComp18"/> When his character, Vietnam veteran Tom Carroll, was dismissed from the show, Frakes, urged by his agent, moved to [[Los Angeles]], where he obtained guest spots in many of the top television series of the 1970s and 1980s, including ''[[The Waltons]]'', ''[[Eight Is Enough]]'', ''[[Hart to Hart]]'', ''[[Barnaby Jones]]'', ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'', ''[[Matlock (1986 TV series)|Matlock]]'', ''[[Quincy, M.E.]]'', and ''[[Hill Street Blues]]''.

He played the part of [[Charles Lindbergh]] in a 1983 episode of ''[[Voyagers!]]'' titled "An Arrow Pointing East". In 1983, he had a role in the short-lived NBC prime time soap opera ''[[Bare Essence]]'' (which also starred his future wife Genie Francis), and a supporting role in the equally short-lived primetime soap ''[[Paper Dolls]]'' in 1984.<ref name="TNGComp18">{{cite book |last1=Nemecek |first1=Larry |editor1-first=Dave |editor1-last=Stern |title=The Star Trek The Next Generation Companion |year=1992 |publisher=[[Pocket Books]] |location=New York|isbn=0-671-79460-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/startreknextgene00neme/page/18 18] |chapter=Rebirth |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/startreknextgene00neme/page/18 }}</ref> He also had recurring roles in ''[[Falcon Crest]]''<ref name="TNGComp18"/> and the [[miniseries]] ''[[North and South (TV miniseries)|North and South]]''. Frakes appeared in the 1986 miniseries ''[[Dream West]]''.