Most TV anti-heroes are often strong, alpha types that make even the most righteous of viewers drool with iration. However, Frank Gallagher is quite the opposite. It's hard to find something to ire about the man. But despite him being despicable, he manages to remain a draw.
That's why he has been around for so long. With 11 seasons, Shameless is moving into territory mostly occupied by police procedurals, medical dramas, and reality shows. Numerous details and storylines have been packed into the seasons hence it's easy to miss a thing or two.
The Number Of Times He Has Been To Hospital
Due to his bad lifestyle habits and tendency to get into petty fights, Frank gets hospitalized a lot. When he visits a hospital in Season 4, one of the doctors describes him as a legend and says he has been there 50 times. Given the number of scars he has on his body, this isn't surprising.
After the "5o times" incident, he sees a doctor again Season 10. This brings his total visits to 55.
He Is Multilingual
There is no doubt that Frank is extremely bright. His schemes are proof enough of this. The only thing that holds him back from achieving greater success is laziness.
Throughout the series, Frank has shown his prowess in several languages. He has been heard speaking Spanish, Armenian, and Japanese. There is English, too. It is never revealed where Frank learned these languages. Since he dropped out of college early, it's unlikely that he studied several languages there.
A Keyboard Maestro?
Frank not necessarily skilled at playing the piano but he tries. He is first seen playing it in the Season 1 episode "It's Time To Kill The Turtle." He also plays the piano at least once in each season that follows. He once mentions that playing tunes on the piano reminds him of his best lovers.
Frank has been spotted playing the ukulele too which he picked up in the street. Other than that he prefers to occupy his hands with beer bottles than any form of instrument.
His Brothers Hate Him
Frank isn't on good with his two brothers Jerry and Clayton. Frank resents them because his parents showed love to them when they were younger but abused him for no reason.
An example of the animosity happens when Jerry runs away from Ian and Lip when he discovers they are Frank's sons. And after their mother dies, Clayton seems to be disgusted by Frank's dirty appearance. He can't understand why Frank doesn't take proper care of himself as other people.
His Might Have Been Born As A Result Of An Affair
It is once suggested that Frank and his twin brother Jerry might be the results of their mother's affair. Like Frank, their mother was promiscuous. She was a criminal too who kept going in and out of prison.
While lamenting how she treated as a child, Frank mentions that his mother had a one-night stand with a popular Black musician with whom she was obsessed.
His Relationship With His Mother
When Frank's mother was locked up, he kept hoping that she would die in prison. His kids would end up having the same wish about him too. On her birthday, Fiona wished that Frank would die. All of his kids also wished he would die when they threw him off the bridge.
As a child, Frank only wetted his bed whenever his mother was around. When she was locked up, he stopped and when she returned home, the habit came back again.
The Number Of Time He Has Been Arrested
Frank has been in jail a number of times. In the pilot episode, he had just been released. Frank also gets arrested after the Karen incident but gets released after Sheila decides not to pursue charges.
Frank gets arrested again when he takes the fall for his robbery with Carl. Whenever Frank bumps into law enforcement officers, they always seem to recognize him. This means that he is a regular at the cells. He has probably been arrested more times off-screen than on-screen.
Most Of His Children Have Physically Attacked Him
Lip assaults him after he sleeps with Karen. They later reconcile. Lip also assaults him for sabotaging Fiona's wedding with her boss. Debbie hits him with a bag of soap until he es out. This is because he ruined a project she was working on. Carl does more harm by breaking his leg so he can get a check for liver surgery.
In Season 6, Carl goes all WWE on Frank by putting him in a choke-hold to prevent him from beating Sean Pierce. Samantha nearly kills him by firing a gun at him. The bullet hits him in the arm. Carl, Ian, and Debbie toss him over a bridge in mafioso fashion after he ruins Fiona's big day. In addition to that, Fiona pepper-sprays him while Debbie goes all Deontay Wilder on him.
The Elusive "Dad" Title
Since his children don't respect him at all, they always call him Frank, as any other person would. This concerned him at first but he never seemed to care in later seasons. However, by Season 10, all his children have called him "dad" at least once when he has stopped being careless.
Frank always does something to mess up the relationship with his children, so some have even regretted calling him dad. Unfortunately for them, it's highly unlikely he'll get any better.
He Is Knowledgable In Law Affairs
Despite never having held a proper job in his life, Frank is quite knowledgeable in matters of law. This was proven in Season 3 during the custody hearing after he got kicked out of his own house. Frank called S on his own children, which led to a huge case with Fiona being granted custody.
Frank was well aware of most of his rights and what the law stated regarding several critical issues. He was also able to quote law that only attorneys are familiar with.
