Joe Regalbuto

Indelibly famous for playing cocky newscaster Frank Fontana on the long-running sitcom "Murphy Brown" (CBS, 1988-1998), Joe Regalbuto was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1949. Pursuing a love of acting he had felt since childhood, he would study at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. Eventually, Regalbuto was drafted for service in the Vietnam War, but his conscientious objector status led to him performing alternative service at the New York University Medical Center, where he began drifting away from the arts. Eventually however, a conversation with a therapist reminded him of his original passion, and he re-enrolled at NYU to further study acting.

Eventually pursuing a professional career as a performer, Regalbuto made his on-screen debut with a small appearance in the film "The Goodbye Girl" (1977). He followed this with other roles, like one in the thriller "Schizoid" (1980) and in the Tom Selleck crime drama "Lassiter" (1984). Then in 1988, Regalbuto joined the cast of "Murphy Brown," cementing his place in the hearts of millions of fans as Brown's platonic best friend and co-worker, Frank Fontana. He would go on to appear in projects like the sleeper hit "Bottle Shock" (2008). Eventually, Regalbuto joined his castmates from "Murphy Brown" for the show's reboot in 2018.