Page "Randall Franks" Paragraph 65

It was perhaps Franks ' love for journalism in the entertainment field specifically, that also caused him to discover a huge oversight in a popular publication about television.

In the renowned The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946 – Present by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, the authors had long left out Franks ' name in the complete regular cast list of In the Heat of the Night.

In the late 1990s, Franks picked up a copy of what had to have been the 1995 edition of the book, the first to have information on the entire series after it ended in 1994.

Obviously feeling slighted when he discovered that he was never listed as a principal character in that edition and two previous ones, Franks wrote to the authors himself ; he pointed out that he had co-starred on the series for five years, and asked to be added in the next edition.

A rare instance of the authors omitting a prominent actor in a TV series listing, Franks got his wish when he was finally added, starting with the seventh edition in 1999.

Brooks and Marsh even mentioned their contact by Franks, in their 1999 epilogue, to make up for the long holdout.