A Short Biography of Frank Muller

Frank Muller garnered wide praise as one of the most talented narrators of audiobooks. Author Stephen King said, "(When Frank reads) the blind will see, the lame will walk, and the deaf will hear." Author Pat Conroy says "He is the best. A prince of language". The Wilson Library Bulletin says "The most outstanding interpreter of audio in the United States is still Frank Muller". Library Journal calls him "the first true superstar reader in the world of spoken word audio". The Los Angeles Times said "(he is) the best reader I have ever heard". AudioFile Magazine says "Master narrator Frank Muller is a perfect interpreter, the medium through which an author's words resonate to the listener. His voice is distinct, yet it yields a thousand characters.

"[When Frank reads] the blind will see, the lame will walk, and the deaf will hear." - Stephen King

       He could be transparent, offering the very essence of a character baring his soul or his teeth, or speak elegantly as he spun out a descriptive passage. He made the listener believe the characters no matter how wacky and made classic characters live and breathe for a contemporary audience. The Philadephia Enquirer says "Nobody can set you trolling the depths of the soul like Frank Muller can..... A veteran actor, and the darkly superb voice of some of Recorded Books' most challenging works... He has a voice and delivery that speak of distant, if darker places where life somehow takes on a greater significance..." The New York Times Book Review opined that "A man who can successfully recreate both Captain Ahab and George Smiley is some kind of genius." The Chicago Tribune wrote "Deftly segueing from Shakespeare to Stephen King, from Melville to John Le Carre, Muller...established himself as one of the more ubiquitous and persuasive voices on taped books, the Laurence Olivier of the medium".


Frank and his wife, Erika, sailing.

       Several of Muller’s recordings have been designated as ALSC "Notable Recordings". He narrated two of the three recordings recognized by Publisher’s Weekly as the "Best Unabridged Fiction of 1995", and two of the ten titles listed as "Best Unabridged Fiction Of 1996" by Library Journal. His numerous awards include the Audio Publishers Association’s 1996 Consumer’s Choice Audie Award for Best Unabridged Fiction, the 1997 Best Unabridged Fiction Audie Award, and nine AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards.

       A classically trained actor, Muller’s background included many years on the New York stage at the Riverside Shakespeare Company, the Roundabout Theater, and the New York Shakespeare Festival, among others. At many of the top regional theaters around the country, including Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage, the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Capitol Rep in Albany, N.Y., and the Cincinnatti Playhouse, he has accumulated numerous credits, including leading roles in "Hamlet", "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Henry V", "The Crucible", "The Merchant of Venice", "Romeo and Juliet", "The Big Knife", "A Flea In Her Ear", "The Taming of the Shrew", "Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead", "The Importance Of Being Earnest", "King Lear", and "Under Milk Wood".

       Television audiences will remember him from "Law And Order"1, "Life Goes On", "Harry and the Hendersons", and "All My Children", among others.

       On November 5 2001 Muller suffered severe head trauma and as multiple fractures from a motorcycle accident in California, and ceased his acting career.

        He died on June 4, 2008 at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC.


 

 


1
Law & Order Season 2, Episode 36 "Blood is Thicker..." He plays a the "other man's" lawyer at the police station
about 10 minutes in. Look quick, he's there.