Bio

Frank Runyeon has won national acclaim for his work as a translator and performer of Biblical texts. He has performed the gospel for hundreds of thousands of people in virtually every state in America. He also is regularly reviewed as “the best speaker we have ever heard” by students and faculty at private and public schools across the nation.

He is probably still best known, however, for his many roles on television. He starred for seven years as Steve Andropoulos on As the World Turns opposite Meg Ryan, then for four years as Father Michael Donnelly on the Emmy award-winning Santa Barbara. He also appeared for a season as tycoon Simon Romero on General Hospital opposite Emma Samms. He has guest-starred in recurring roles on L.A. LAW as talk-show host Brooks Tapman, on Another World as party boss Ed McClain, and on Falcon Crest as chess genius Jovan Dmytryk. He appeared on Melrose Place as Father Tom.

Frank starred as Detective Marty Lowery in the feature film Sudden Death and as Pierre Lyon in Bolero. He appeared to rave reviews on the New York stage as Hercules in Aristophanes' The Birds, and in regional theater as Clifford in Deathtrap and Oliver Costello in The Spider's Web.

On the radio, he has hosted his own comedy talk show on the top-rated L.A. station, KFI, as well as on WCNN in Atlanta.

Frank is a graduate of Princeton University with a degree in Religion. After studying acting in New York and Los Angeles for 15 years, he attended Fuller Seminary in preparation for the writing and performance of his first one-man play, AFRAID!: The Gospel of Mark . He continued his studies at Yale Divinity School and General Theological Seminary, from which he received his Masters, with honors, in l994. He workshopped his first productions in cooperation with the faculty of Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass.

Frank has now translated and adapted five Biblical texts for performance as one-man dramas:

• The Gospel of Mark: “AFRAID!”
• Sermon on the Mount
• The 3 ½ Stories of Christmas, a comedy with music
• The Gospel of John: “SIGNS”
• The Letter of James: “What Are You Doing?”

Frank is also a popular youth speaker on the subject of the mass media, using humor to reveal the shortcomings of the media's world view. His subjects include:

• Hollywood vs. Faith
• 3 Big Lies
• The Great American Treasure Hunt
  (OR: Life After Prep School--What They Don't Tell You)

He has been the commencement speaker at several prep schools, a featured speaker at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 2000, and the keynoter at numerous state and national youth conventions.

Frank is currently writing an autobiographical book: ESCAPE FROM HOLLYWOOD: An Actor's Journey.

He and his wife of 25 years, Annie, live in Los Angeles with their three children.