Riker's beard was real...and fake!

[Doug Otte]

Sorry to begin a new thread, but I wanted to answer the question on the other closed thread.

Yes, Frakes re-grew his own beard in the hiatus after season 1, Roddenberry liked it, and he kept it.

However, Frakes has mentioned in one of the DVD docs that, at the beginning of Season 2, the beard was still patchy in a few spots, so the makeup or hair artist supplemented it w/ some fake (actually, probably another human's real hair), until
Frakes' beard was fully grown in.

Doug

 

[davejames]

Looks like they also must have been filling in the back of his head too.

 

[WillsBabe]

Looks like they also must have been filling in the back of his head too.

Lol! yes, Frakes definately wears a hairpiece. I read in an interview somewhere that he talks about having his bald patch covered up.

 

[R. Star]

Looks like they also must have been filling in the back of his head too.

Lol! yes, Frakes definately wears a hairpiece. I read in an interview somewhere that he talks about having his bald patch covered up.

I just always thought he was secretly trying to immitate Patrick Stewart.

 

[T'Preea]

I don't understand why he would have to worry about covering it up. Some men are sexier bald, no matter how old they are. Sir Patrick, for example.

 

[TorontoTrekker]

However, Frakes has mentioned in one of the DVD docs that, at the beginning of Season 2, the beard was still patchy in a few spots, so the makeup or hair artist supplemented it w/ some fake (actually, probably another human's real hair), until Frakes' beard was fully grown in.

I find that strange. I met Jonathan Frakes during the S1/S2 hiatus (he was a guest at Shore Leave, in Baltimore), and my recollection is that the beard was actually fuller than it ended up being on the show. They trimmed it so that his cheeks were bare.

Mind you, that was a long time ago, and it could be that it was patchier than I remember, or maybe there were some less hairy spots below his chin that needed to be evened out. Or maybe the stylist trimmed more off than intended and they had to put some hair back.

The one thing I do remember is that he looked damned sexy (and I'm not usually attracted to guys with facial hair). And I was far from the only person at that con who approved of the beard. The general consensus was that he looked better with it.

 

[chrinFinity]

Ahh, TrekBBS. Where I can come at 8 in the morning, and read a thread about Jonathan Frakes's beard. Thank god for fandom.

 

[Doug Otte]

I find that strange. I met Jonathan Frakes during the S1/S2 hiatus (he was a guest at Shore Leave, in Baltimore), and my recollection is that the beard was actually fuller than it ended up being on the show. They trimmed it so that his cheeks were bare.

Mind you, that was a long time ago, and it could be that it was patchier than I remember, or maybe there were some less hairy spots below his chin that needed to be evened out. Or maybe the stylist trimmed more off than intended and they had to put some hair back.

The one thing I do remember is that he looked damned sexy (and I'm not usually attracted to guys with facial hair). And I was far from the only person at that con who approved of the beard. The general consensus was that he looked better with it.

I'm guessing it was your latter guess (highlighted above). If I wasn't so lazy, I'd go to the Season 2 DVD set and see if I could find the quotes.

As a hetero man, I liked Frakes better w/ a beard, too, except it covered up the cute dimple on his chin!

Doug

 

[Satyrquaze]

I don't understand why he would have to worry about covering it up. Some men are sexier bald, no matter how old they are. Sir Patrick, for example.

Bear in mind, this was 1988. It wasn't cool to be bald yet. The glory that is Sir Patrick Stewart hadn't sunk into the public consciousness quite yet.

 

[chrinFinity]

Ahh, TrekBBS. Where I can come at 8 in the morning, and read a thread about Jonathan Frakes's beard. Thank god for fandom.

Ah, forgive me -- on closer inspection it appears to have been TWO threads on Jonathan Frakes's beard. Very good.

 

[Unicron]

We aim to please. I do think Riker wound up looking better with the beard, as it gave the character a more seasoned look.

 

[Spockrock]

Riker's beard as with life. Confucius says: life is paradox. 'Tis real, and yet it is not. Think too much about it, you go insane, like Riker...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD6kIn3ktkw

 

[TorontoTrekker]

Ahh, TrekBBS. Where I can come at 8 in the morning, and read a thread about Jonathan Frakes's beard. Thank god for fandom.

Ah, forgive me -- on closer inspection it appears to have been TWO threads on Jonathan Frakes's beard. Very good.

If I weren't afraid that someone would miss the joke, I would say, "What? There's a thread about Genie Francis?"

Riker's beard as with life. Confucius says: life is paradox. 'Tis real, and yet it is not. Think too much about it, you go insane, like Riker...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD6kIn3ktkw

Ah, but what would Sun-Tzu say about it?

 

[Sindatur]

Ahh, TrekBBS. Where I can come at 8 in the morning, and read a thread about Jonathan Frakes's beard. Thank god for fandom.

Ah, forgive me -- on closer inspection it appears to have been TWO threads on Jonathan Frakes's beard. Very good.

If I weren't afraid that someone would miss the joke, I would say, "What? There's a thread about Genie Francis?"

Riker's beard as with life. Confucius says: life is paradox. 'Tis real, and yet it is not. Think too much about it, you go insane, like Riker...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD6kIn3ktkw

Ah, but what would Sun-Tzu say about it?

<Scratches head, checks IMDB> I coulda sworn Johnathon Frakes was married to Crystal Bernard <Goes to check Crystal Bernard to see how I coulda got the wrong impression>

ETA: No romantic interests referenced for Crystal on IMDB or Wikipedia <Gives up>