Frank Potenza from 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Dead at 77

Uncle Frank Potenza, the smiling, white-haired security guard best known as Uncle Frank on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," passed away early Tuesday of unknown causes. At 10:45 a.m. Jimmy Kimmel tweeted to his Twitter fans, "thank you for your kind words about a very kind man - my Uncle Frank - who passed away this morning."

Uncle Frank Facts

* Frank Potenza was from Brooklyn, N.Y., and really was Jimmy Kimmel's uncle.

* An unlikely veteran of the police force, Potenza worked for 20 years as a New York City police officer.

* Frank Potenza was also a Korean War veteran.

* Potenza worked for 20 years as a security guard at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

* He worked for a while as Frank Sinatra's personal security guard at Caesar's Palace.

* Potenza served an usher at Manhattan's St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.

* Uncle Frank appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" regularly from 2003 until December 2009.

* Between December 2009 and March 2010, Potenza did not appear on the show much due to illness, but he made it to the seventh anniversary show on Jan. 26, 2010.

* In mid-2010, Uncle Frank came back to the show as a semi-regular.

* Potenza was 77 at the time of his death.

The ABC bio of Potenza states that Uncle Frank liked "cake and ice cream, walking, and spending time with his family including his three daughters. He considers himself 'smart about some things but not others' and also boasts that he is 'very spiritual.'"
People reports Kimmel personally asked his Uncle Frank to move to Los Angeles to join Kimmel's brand-new talk show as security guard and on-air personality. There Potenza became known to millions of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" viewers simply as Uncle Frank.

Potenza worked with his nephew for nine years. He often appeared with Veatrice Rice, the 60-ish, African-American, female security guard who passed away in January 2009, and Guillermo, the Hispanic security guard, who both also became show personalities. Often Potenza, Guillermo and Rice served as a "panel of experts" on any number of topics and issues from sports to politics. While Guilermo would snicker and Rice would glare, Potenza would ramble on about topics he apparently knew nothing about. The segments usually ended with an enraged Rice pushed beyond the limits of her patience cursing at Uncle Frank for his lame responses. Uncle Frank just smiled.

Sometimes Kimmel paired Frank with his ex-wife and Jimmy's aunt, Chippy. Uncle Frank and Aunt Chippy were married for 28 years before they divorced. The ABC bio reveals that Potenza bought a burial plot next to Chippy after their divorce. The bits were similar to pairing Potenza with Rice: Frank would ramble and get his facts wrong, and Aunt Chippy would indignantly cuss him out. The unflappable Uncle Frank would just smile.

Many segments of the show featured Kimmel teasing his Uncle Frank about the fact that in his two decades as a cop, he made only six arrests. Kimmel also liked to ask Uncle Frank a variety of easy questions to which Frank invariably gave the wrong answers.

The charm of Uncle Frank was that it never bothered him to get any answer wrong or to be cursed at. He never got angry as he smiled from ear to ear, obviously enjoying himself, no matter the topic or his inglorious answers. He was just happy to be there.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, "During his nine year run on-air, 'Uncle Frank' contributed many great moments to Jimmy Kimmel Live. He was beloved by his co-workers and considered an Uncle to all. Potenza is survived by his three daughters and newborn granddaughter Franki. His kindness and humor will be missed by everyone he touched."

Rest in peace, Uncle Frank. Your huge smile and unflappability will be missed.

Sources:

Veatrice Rice of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Passes Away, Yahoo Contributor Network
Jimmy Kimmel, Twitter
Uncle Frank Potenza of Jimmy Kimmel's Show Dies at 77: People.com
ABC bio for Uncle Frank Potenza
Jimmy Kimmel's Uncle Frank Potenza Dies, Hollywood Reporter