Jerold Franks
- Casting Director
- Casting Department
- Producer
Jerold Franks, Independent Casting Director, Lecturer, Educator and
Actors' Advocate, is responsible for an extraordinary number of
television, motion picture, theater, and live show productions and
events.
Considered one of the foremost experts in guiding talent, Jerry is the
former Executive in Charge of Talent and Casting for 20th Century Fox
Television. He also served as Director of Talent and Casting for
Columbia Pictures Television and with the Long Beach Civic Light Opera
as their Artistic Director.
Before entering the Casting Director's world, he learned the basics
from the other side of the desk and served a two year stint as a
theatrical agent in Los Angeles and New York. His first solo casting
assignment was on the Emmy Award-winning "Barney Miller." He worked at
Warner Brothers Television (Formerly Lorimar) casting Movies of the
Week and series', cast five years on MGM's successful pilot and series
"FAME," and was the Casting Consultant for ABC Daytime Dramas.
Through the years, Franks has worked with virtually every network and
studio in Hollywood and New York. Highly respected throughout the
industry, Franks was honored in 1995, 1997, and 2000 with Awards of
Excellence for Contributions to the Entertainment Industry by the
Southern California Motion Picture Council. He was the recipient of the
1999 Award of Excellence by the California Governor's Committee for
'Employment of the Physically Challenged' for his casting of the Movie
of the Week, "Kids Like These." A three-time Emmy nominee for casting
(in association with long time partner Al Onorato) he is most proud of
the 1989 ARTIOS Award, the Casting Society of America's highest honor
for his casting of the feature film, "Baghdad Cafe" and an Emmy-winning
production of ABC's Wonderful World of Disney's "A Mother's Courage:
The Mary Thomas Story."
Twenty years ago he established Jerold Franks Productions, which serves
as a well recognized special events production company. His
humanitarian fundraising efforts have been acknowledged with countless
accolades from many charitable organizations. Additionally, Franks has
produced the annual Cedars-Sinai Hospital Thalians fund-raiser for the
last 20 years.
Education:Master's Degree - Psychology, Guidance & Counseling
California State University - Northridge, California (1971) Master's
Degree - Marketing and Public Relations - UCLA
Theatre Arts Lecturer: 1980 - 2002 University of California - Los
Angeles University of Southern California - Los Angeles California
State University - Northridge California State University - Los Angeles
Cypress College - Cypress, California American University - Washington,
D.C. (guest)
Professional Non-profit/profit clients: (partial list)
The City of Hope - Duarte, California The City of Hope Diabetes
Foundation - Duarte, California Cedar's Sinai Hospital - Los Angeles,
California The NAACP - National Chapter (Washington, D.C.) The Thalians
Mental Health Unit -Cedars-Sinai Hospital Los Angeles -pro-bono - since
1982 The Media Access Office (Board Member) Organization supporting
employment of Physically Challenged Persons in the Entertainment
Industry The Deaf Entertainment Foundation - Board Member The Norris
Cancer Clinic (USC) AIDS Alliance Los Angeles (Board Member) The
Actor's Fund of America Luckman Fine Arts Center - Los Angeles (grand
opening of venue) Shanti AIDS Foundation - pro-bono The NAACP The Hugh
O'Brien Youth Foundation Make A Wish Foundation The Crippled Children's
Association of Southern California The American Cancer Society The
American Heart Association The Spirit of American Foundation Multiple
Sclerosis Association of Los Angeles
Franks holds graduate degrees in Theatre Arts and Psychology and has
served on the faculties of the University of California - L.A., Cypress
College, and the University of Southern California. He is a past member
of the Executive Committee for the Media Access office, a member of the
Academy of Television Arts and the advisory board of Thalians Mental
Health unit at Cedars Sinai Hospital. He serves as President Pro Tem of
the Friends of the Theatre, California State University, Los Angeles.
In 2004, he joined the Board of Direcotrs for RXLaughter
(RxLaugher.org)in Los Angeles.
Additionally, Franks serves on the Board of the Deaf Entertainment
Foundation and is a consultant for the New York Equity annual
fund-raiser, along with his active year round work on behalf of The
Actor's Fund of America, The Christopher Reeve Foundation (crpf.org)
and the Pat Tillman Foundation. (www.PatTillman.com)
Franks is currently on a year round fund raising tour with his revised
2001 well received book "So You Wanna Be An Actor...Act Like One" and
his second and third books "Bruised Heart" and "Gah goo means 'thank
you'" will be released in 2005 by Barnes and Noble.
Actors' Advocate, is responsible for an extraordinary number of
television, motion picture, theater, and live show productions and
events.
Considered one of the foremost experts in guiding talent, Jerry is the
former Executive in Charge of Talent and Casting for 20th Century Fox
Television. He also served as Director of Talent and Casting for
Columbia Pictures Television and with the Long Beach Civic Light Opera
as their Artistic Director.
Before entering the Casting Director's world, he learned the basics
from the other side of the desk and served a two year stint as a
theatrical agent in Los Angeles and New York. His first solo casting
assignment was on the Emmy Award-winning "Barney Miller." He worked at
Warner Brothers Television (Formerly Lorimar) casting Movies of the
Week and series', cast five years on MGM's successful pilot and series
"FAME," and was the Casting Consultant for ABC Daytime Dramas.
Through the years, Franks has worked with virtually every network and
studio in Hollywood and New York. Highly respected throughout the
industry, Franks was honored in 1995, 1997, and 2000 with Awards of
Excellence for Contributions to the Entertainment Industry by the
Southern California Motion Picture Council. He was the recipient of the
1999 Award of Excellence by the California Governor's Committee for
'Employment of the Physically Challenged' for his casting of the Movie
of the Week, "Kids Like These." A three-time Emmy nominee for casting
(in association with long time partner Al Onorato) he is most proud of
the 1989 ARTIOS Award, the Casting Society of America's highest honor
for his casting of the feature film, "Baghdad Cafe" and an Emmy-winning
production of ABC's Wonderful World of Disney's "A Mother's Courage:
The Mary Thomas Story."
Twenty years ago he established Jerold Franks Productions, which serves
as a well recognized special events production company. His
humanitarian fundraising efforts have been acknowledged with countless
accolades from many charitable organizations. Additionally, Franks has
produced the annual Cedars-Sinai Hospital Thalians fund-raiser for the
last 20 years.
Education:Master's Degree - Psychology, Guidance & Counseling
California State University - Northridge, California (1971) Master's
Degree - Marketing and Public Relations - UCLA
Theatre Arts Lecturer: 1980 - 2002 University of California - Los
Angeles University of Southern California - Los Angeles California
State University - Northridge California State University - Los Angeles
Cypress College - Cypress, California American University - Washington,
D.C. (guest)
Professional Non-profit/profit clients: (partial list)
The City of Hope - Duarte, California The City of Hope Diabetes
Foundation - Duarte, California Cedar's Sinai Hospital - Los Angeles,
California The NAACP - National Chapter (Washington, D.C.) The Thalians
Mental Health Unit -Cedars-Sinai Hospital Los Angeles -pro-bono - since
1982 The Media Access Office (Board Member) Organization supporting
employment of Physically Challenged Persons in the Entertainment
Industry The Deaf Entertainment Foundation - Board Member The Norris
Cancer Clinic (USC) AIDS Alliance Los Angeles (Board Member) The
Actor's Fund of America Luckman Fine Arts Center - Los Angeles (grand
opening of venue) Shanti AIDS Foundation - pro-bono The NAACP The Hugh
O'Brien Youth Foundation Make A Wish Foundation The Crippled Children's
Association of Southern California The American Cancer Society The
American Heart Association The Spirit of American Foundation Multiple
Sclerosis Association of Los Angeles
Franks holds graduate degrees in Theatre Arts and Psychology and has
served on the faculties of the University of California - L.A., Cypress
College, and the University of Southern California. He is a past member
of the Executive Committee for the Media Access office, a member of the
Academy of Television Arts and the advisory board of Thalians Mental
Health unit at Cedars Sinai Hospital. He serves as President Pro Tem of
the Friends of the Theatre, California State University, Los Angeles.
In 2004, he joined the Board of Direcotrs for RXLaughter
(RxLaugher.org)in Los Angeles.
Additionally, Franks serves on the Board of the Deaf Entertainment
Foundation and is a consultant for the New York Equity annual
fund-raiser, along with his active year round work on behalf of The
Actor's Fund of America, The Christopher Reeve Foundation (crpf.org)
and the Pat Tillman Foundation. (www.PatTillman.com)
Franks is currently on a year round fund raising tour with his revised
2001 well received book "So You Wanna Be An Actor...Act Like One" and
his second and third books "Bruised Heart" and "Gah goo means 'thank
you'" will be released in 2005 by Barnes and Noble.