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Mark Frankel was born on June 13th 1962 in London, England, the son of
an RAF pilot. The arts were very much in his blood, with a concert
pianist grandmother and a conductor/violinist grandfather, but growing
up in South London, Mark was a self confessed rebel, where he was much
more interested in motorbikes. His parents tried separating him from bad
influences, sending him to various boarding schools until eventually at
16 he decided to leave academia behind him in order to join a men's
tennis tour.
At 20 he turned to the only thing that had caught his
imagination at school; acting, and won a coveted three-year scholarship
to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. In 1989 he
graduated, and so began a promising stage career. Like all great actors
Mark had luck on his side. Whilst performing in a play in a London pub,
to an audience of 40, American director, Jerry London spotted him and
cast him in the role of Michelangelo in A Season of Giants alongside
legendary English actors Steven Berkoff and Ian Holm. His
career continued with Young Catherine and the role of Simon Bolt in US
TV Drama Sisters, which made him a name Stateside. It was his role as
Leon Gellar in the award winning Leon The Pig Farmer that really
catapulted him to stardom. Successful leads in action TV drama Fortune
Hunter and bitter sweet romantic comedy Solitaire for 2 followed before
Mark entered the dark world of Kindred: The Embraced. Tragedy
struck the Frankel family for the first time during the shooting of Young
Catherine, when Mark's older brother by three years, Joe, one Europe's
finest acrobatic pilots, was killed. Mark was deeply affected by the
loss, the two had been incredibly close. He is quoted as saying: "Nothing frightens me because I view my life as a wait - 10 years, 50 years, whatever - until I see my brother again."
Unfortunately that wait was all too short. Soon
after the first season of Kindred: The Embraced finished shooting Mark was back in London, and it
was here on September 24th 1996 that he met a tragic end. Riding his
customized yellow Harley Davidson, his pride and joy, he collided with a
truck. Mark left behind his wife Catherine and sons
Fabien and Max, who was born after his father's death.
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