Frank Buffay Sr.

: This article is about Phoebe Buffay's father. For her half brother see Frank Buffay Jr., for one of triplets she gave birth to see Frank Buffay Jr. Jr.
Frank Buffay is the father of Phoebe, Ursula, and Frank Buffay Jr.. He was portrayed by Bob Balaban.
==History==
Frank had a consensual relationship with both Lily and Phoebe Abbott at the same time, which resulted in the latter falling pregnant with Phoebe and Ursula. Frank and Lily married and planned on raising the twins together. However, he walked out on his family and divorced Lily when the twins were just babies. He later remarried and had a son, Frank Buffay Jr, who along with his second wife he eventually abandoned as well.
Frank is central to Season 2 episode "The One With Phoebe's Dad", but appears only once and more than three years later, when Phoebe's grandmother (Lily's mother), Frances, dies in "The One With Joey's Bag". He introduces himself at the funeral for the grandmother, which makes Phoebe gasp. He quickly says his name is Joe and rushes out. She catches up to him and claims she is the executor of Frances' estate, so he agrees to meet her at Central Perk after the funeral. Frank also did not know that Lily was dead, so he wanted to see her asking Phoebe to give her a letter he wrote to her. Phoebe then reveals to him that Lily is dead and also that she is actually Phoebe. He apologizes to her for abandoning her and it turns out that he sang her a lullaby as a baby to the same melody as "Smelly Cat". Phoebe smiles as he recites it ("Sleepy girl, sleepy girl, why won't you go to sleep; sleepy girl, sleepy girl, you're keeping me up.") At the end of the episode, Phoebe is not ready to forgive her birth father yet, but slowly warms up to him. They sit on the couch and talk for a while.
==Appearance==
* "The One With Joey's Bag" 
==Trivia==
* It is unknown if Phoebe ever told her brother about meeting their father. It is also unknown if Frank Sr. reconnected with his son's family and met his grandchildren.
* In a deleted scene, Phoebe tells Ursula she met their father, but Ursula thinks John Glenn is their dad and cannot be convinced otherwise.
Category:Friends Characters
Category:Phoebe's Family
Category:Season 5 Characters
Category:Fathers
Category:Grandfathers
Category:One-Off Characters
Category:Divorcees
Category:Male Characters
Category:Characters