Frank Alesia
Encyclopedia
Frank Alesia was an American
actor
and television director
. He was best-known for his work in the beach party film
genre
during the 1960s, including such films as Pajama Party
(1964) and Riot on Sunset Strip
(1967). He later directed episodes of Captain Kangaroo
and other television series.
Alesia was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Los Angeles
in 1964. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Alesia became one of the last character actors in the film industry to work under the studio system
, which was declining at the time. He appeared in several beach party films of the 1960s, including Pajama Party
, Bikini Beach
, which starred Frankie Avalon
and Annette Funicello
, Riot on Sunset Strip
and Beach Blanket Bingo
. His television credits as an actor also included appearances in The Flying Nun
, The Odd Couple
, Gomer Pyle
, That Girl
, Room 222
and Laverne & Shirley
.
Alesia later directed episodes of Captain Kangaroo
, which earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1979. He also joined the crew of Laverne & Shirley
beginning in 1980 as both a screenwriter
and television director
. He directed three episodes of Laverne & Shirley, wrote one episode, and served as an executive consultant for eight episodes of the show.
He later left the entertainment industry and raced and bred thoroughbred
horses.
, on February 27, 2011, aged 67. He was survived by his wife, Sharon, and two children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
. He was best-known for his work in the beach party film
Beach Party film
Beach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
during the 1960s, including such films as Pajama Party
Pajama Party (film)
Pajama Party is a 1964 beach party film starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. This is the fourth in a series of seven beach films produced by American International Pictures...
(1964) and Riot on Sunset Strip
Riot on Sunset Strip
Riot on Sunset Strip is a 1967 low-budget exploitation movie, released by American International Pictures, and filmed and released within six weeks of the actual late-1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots....
(1967). He later directed episodes of Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
and other television series.
Alesia was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1964. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Alesia became one of the last character actors in the film industry to work under the studio system
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
, which was declining at the time. He appeared in several beach party films of the 1960s, including Pajama Party
Pajama Party (film)
Pajama Party is a 1964 beach party film starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. This is the fourth in a series of seven beach films produced by American International Pictures...
, Bikini Beach
Bikini Beach
Bikini Beach is a 1964 teen film directed by William Asher and starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The film belongs to the beach party genre of movies, popular in the 1960s. This is the third in a series of seven films produced by American International Pictures .-Plot:School is out and...
, which starred Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
and Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
, Riot on Sunset Strip
Riot on Sunset Strip
Riot on Sunset Strip is a 1967 low-budget exploitation movie, released by American International Pictures, and filmed and released within six weeks of the actual late-1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots....
and Beach Blanket Bingo
Beach Blanket Bingo
Beach Blanket Bingo is an American International Pictures beach party film, released in 1965 and was directed by William Asher. It is the fifth film in the beach party film series...
. His television credits as an actor also included appearances in The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun is an American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, by Tere Rios, which starred Sally Field as Sister Bertrille...
, The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...
, Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a bubbly, gentle, rural auto mechanic character played by American singer/ television actor Jim Nabors. Gomer Pyle became a character on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, when actor Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber, suffered a stroke and took a respite from acting. Jim...
, That Girl
That Girl
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
, Room 222
Room 222
Room 222 is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series aired on ABC from September 17, 1969, to January 11, 1974, for 112 episodes...
and Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
.
Alesia later directed episodes of Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
, which earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1979. He also joined the crew of Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
beginning in 1980 as both a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
. He directed three episodes of Laverne & Shirley, wrote one episode, and served as an executive consultant for eight episodes of the show.
He later left the entertainment industry and raced and bred thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horses.
Death
Frank Alesia died of natural causes at his home in Carlsbad, CaliforniaCarlsbad, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Carlsbad had a population of 105,328. The population density was 2,693.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Carlsbad was 87,205 White, 1,379 African American, 514 Native American, 7,460 Asian, 198 Pacific Islander, 4,189 from other...
, on February 27, 2011, aged 67. He was survived by his wife, Sharon, and two children.