Frank Pembleton

Frank Pembleton
Det. Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton
First appearance	January 31, 1993 (1x01, "Gone for Goode")
Last appearance	May 8, 1998 (6x23, Fallen Heroes (2)) (HLOTS) February 13, 2000 Homicide: The Movie
Created by	Tom Fontana
Portrayed by	Andre Braugher
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Teacher Homicide Detective (Formerly)
Title	Detective
Spouse(s)	Mary Whelan-Pembleton
Children	Olivia (daughter); Frank Jr. (son)
Religion	Catholic
Nationality	American

Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton is a fictional homicide detective on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Emmy Award winning actor Andre Braugher. He is a primary character of the show through the first six seasons. Although the show featured an ensemble cast, Pembleton would become a fan favorite and is often identified by them as the show's signature character. He is based on Baltimore Police Department Detective Harry Edgerton, who, like Pembleton, was an eccentric New York bred African American detective in the BPD homicide unit featured in David Simon's book.Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. The character also appeared in the Law & Order episode "Charm City."

Pembleton was born into a Catholic family in New York City on July 1, 1961. It was implied that he had siblings, but they never appear on the show. He was educated first in a Catholic elementary school and then in a Jesuit high school, a reference to Braugher attending a Jesuit school, St. Ignatius College Prep, in Chicago. Frank later said that "the Jesuits taught me how to think," which comes up on the show from time to time. He knows Latin and Greek and is well versed in Catholic theology. He met his future wife, Mary, on the Great Lawn in Central Park shortly after graduating from the Police academy when he was 24. He claims that he knew as soon as he met her that she was "the one." They were married in 1986.