Francis Xavier "Frank" Murphy (born January 7, 1935) is the overall main protagonist of F Is for Family. He was born to an Irish family and was the baggage department manager for Mohican Airways and one of the vending machine servicemen for Champagne Chariot Vending Services. He is the father of Kevin, Bill, Maureen, and Megan Murphy and husband to Sue Murphy. He is voiced by comedian Bill Burr, one of the show's co-creators. As a small child he is voiced by Haley Reinhart. BiographyFrancis Murphy was born on January 7, 1935 and was the son of William "Big Bill" Murphy and Nora Gribble. Big Bill refused to attend the hospital where Frank was born, instead he spent time getting drunk in a bar instead. Frank often mentions how much he hates his father. In elementary school, Frank was in the class play and was cruelly humiliated by his father for this. His dad was also shown to physically abuse Frank. For example, beating him with a crutch or shoving ice cream in his face. Frank was seen by his father as too sensitive because he would cry when he was humiliated or hit, which Big Bill berated him. One traumatic event Frank often brings up was that his father forced him to wear a grass skirt and coconut bra because he cried when he heard about the Pearl Harbor attack. In middle school, Frank was popular, but apparently a bit of a bully as he and his friends would throw weaker kids into the local river. “Big Bill” lost his job due to investing all his savings in crutches and iron lungs to sell to the polio victims, though polio later got a cure causing his hardware to go bankrupt in 1952, which enraged Bill and caused him to smash his TV set with a beer bottle. During an argument, he hit Frank with a crutch after he said "I hate you, and I'm glad polio got cured". Though Nora, who witnessed it, grabbed the crutch away from William and caused him to lose his balance. William later packed his bags, and left home. He never saw Frank again for eighteen years. Once graduating high school in 1953, Frank aspired to become a pilot. However, he was drafted into the Korean War (he was eighteen, and was unable to attend college), and served in the 14th Infrantry Regiment. At some point during his service in the Korean War, he was wounded and nearly bled to death, temporarily dying for five minutes before being resuscitated. After being discharged from the Army at the War's conclusion in the same year, Frank went to Officer Candidate School with the Air National Guard Robert "Bob" Pogrohovich. He began dating Sue Chilson in 1958. It is shown that Frank was ecstatic to get into flight school and be a pilot, while Sue was planning to finish college to start her career. However, the couple was given the shocking news that she was pregnant with their future child, which lead them to both quitting their desires. Frank asked his friend Bob Pogo to give him a job at Mohican Airways for the Rustbelt Memorial Airport, where he eventually became good friends with his co-workers. Frank and Sue decided to get married due to the pregnancy and named their first child Kevin Murphy, in 1959. The two were very loving parents to their only son at this time, often taking him out, buying him a puppy, and showering him with attention. During one of these outings, Kevin fell into a swimming pool and remained at the bottom for two whole minutes, an incident Sue blames on Frank as he was supposed to be watching Kevin. This Incident can be seen at the Beginning of "The Memorial Day parade as the Murphy's were watching films about Frank and Sue's early married life. They had three more children: the second, Bill in 1962, (not actually named after Frank's father, but rather it just being Sue's turn to pick a name) the third, Maureen in 1964; and the fourth, Megan in 1974 After Frank's boss dies on the job, he is promoted to manager but is fired within 3 months after resolving the conflict that would lead to a strike, simply because his superior didn't do anything to stop their boss from terminating him. This leads Frank to leave Pogo in his car by putting the keys at his feet (he couldn't reach it due to being extremely overweight) and leaving him on Christmas Eve. He spends some time unemployed, falling into a deep depression. His friend Rosie helps him get a job stocking vending machine, which Frank comes to enjoy as he feels appreciated by his new boss, Smokey. The job, however, causes strain on his marriage, as he isn't around as much and isn't supporting Sue in her new career. He also winds up stealing money from her secret stash because Bob Pogo eats a bunch of his inventory and Kevin stole money from Frank's own stash. His job also leads to him neglecting his children, which results in problems for them, especially his sons. Because Frank's replacement, Scoop Dunbarton, was such a narcissist, his old co-workers got together with him to devise a plan to get Frank his old job back. They planned to send Scoop on a plane to a remote location, but the plan is interrupted by a hijacking. Frank and the others are held as hostages, and a suitcase bomb winds up killing both Scoop and Roger Dunbarton, and Frank was eventually re-hired. When Frank's father comes back into his life years later, they clash at first but eventually bond. Frank's father finally apologizes to him on the day Megan is born. PersonalityFrank is described in various terms. In short, he is best described as judgmental, cynical, truculent, self-centered, hotheaded, rude, uncouth, and arrogant. The very dark, disturbing undertones of his personality suggest that he is embittered with the world. Frank starts off as a well-intentioned, hard-working manager at Mohican Airways, but he often struggles to manage the demands of having a large family and his occupation. At home, his family life appears to be dysfunctional and unhappy; it's common for Frank to fight with his children and wife, sometimes over the smallest of things, and has abused them in various ways, emotionally, verbally, and physically. Even though he constantly professes that he loves his family and children, there is some debate over whether he really cares for them or not because he's more affectionate and attentive to Maureen than his sons. It's clearly evident that Frank's suffering from a mid-life crisis. He feels frustrated, overwhelmed, neglected, hopeless, misunderstood, unfulfilled, and beaten down, and blames society for his failures in life. It is shown that Frank's failure to connect with his family is rooted in his difficult childhood. His children cope differently with the situation. Before his wedding to Sue, Frank felt like a success because he believed he had something to strive for and something to live for. Knowing that his pursuits were abruptly ended because of some unexpected twists, along with the fact that he failed to adequately establish himself in society after his military career is the final slap in the face, the last humiliating insult life can dish out. Frank is foul-mouthed, temperamental, profane, and short-fused. He uses profane language constantly, even when conversing with those above him, gets irritated over the smallest of issues, and has serious trouble with handling his emotions. As demonstrated in "O Holy Moly Night", when the Mohican Airways staff go on strike, Frank analyses all the turmoil he and his family have gone through and has a major meltdown, claiming that staying positive is highly improbable. When Sue announced she was pregnant for the fourth time, Frank put his fist through the wall in fury rather than acknowledging it positively. Frank has no tolerance for failure and mediocrity. He sets impossibly high expectations for his children and demands them to get good grades, as demonstrated in "Bring your child to work day " and "The stadium", when he learned about Kevin's failures at school. Frank is a highly controlling individual and always expects his family to do his bidding, no matter how silly or selfish his desires may be. This first happens in "The Bleedin' in Sweden", where he, out of his jealousy towards Vic, bought a new TV set and put his family into debt. In one episode, "F is for Halloween", Frank intentionally damages Sue's chances of getting a job, simply because he never got the chance to pursue his own dreams. His view of women is rather atavistic and pushes his views upon others; he feels that Maureen's interest in technology is too "masculine" for her, and he did not like the idea of his wife having a part-time job, because it would mean he would have to be left alone with the kids, further highlighting his lack of interest in being a parent. Frank is an alcoholic and leads a highly sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle; he frequently drives drunk and smokes cigarettes on a regular basis. Perhaps his most distinguishing personality trait is the fact that he rarely admits responsibility to anything. As evidence, Frank feels that Kevin is the way he is because of his lack of sensibilities, but in reality, Frank's negligence and generally abusive attitude are why Kevin has become the way he is. Overall and despite his flaws, Frank is a deeply tragic character. Deep down inside, he yearns to be valued, noticed, appreciated, and acknowledged, and respected, which is why he masks his insecurities with rude behavior. In the end, he ended up living his worst fear: he became as abusive and horrible as his father. RelationshipsFamily
Neighbors
Work
Trivia
Quotes
GalleryFrank arguing with Sue Frank as a young adult in the opening credits Frank with Rosie Frank, and Sue in 1958 Frank and Sue's wedding photo "Frank Expressions" model sheet Frank as a child. Frank in the 5th grade. Frank as a teenager. References
What war was frank in F is for Family?Frank Murphy was in The 14th Infantry division during the Korean war. The family live in an area known as 'the Rustbelt' or Rust Belt.
What war did Frank Murphy fight in?Francis William Murphy was born April 13, 1890, in Harbor Beach, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1914. He began his career as a lawyer before enlisting in the U.S. Army during World War I, where he was promoted to captain of infantry and served in the army of occupation of Germany.
Was Frank Murphy in the army?Murphy saw action in both World Wars, serving as a first lieutenant and later rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After his military service, he secured an appointment as first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, a position he held from 1919 to 1920.
Why does Bill Murphy have red hair?He gets his red hair from his paternal grandfather, William Murphy.
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