Phil Foster (born Fivel Feldman; March 29, 1913 – July 8, 1985) was an American actor and performer, best known for his portrayal of Frank DeFazio in Laverne & Shirley. Early life Foster was born Fivel Feldman in Brooklyn, New York City on March 29, 1913. Career Foster took his stage name from Foster Avenue in Brooklyn. His first taste of performing came as a child, when he and his friends began singing and dancing in front of movie theaters. He then began appearing in amateur shows, competing for prizes. With him on occasion was another beginner named Jackie Gleason. At the height of the Great Depression, Foster started in the dramatic field, playing in halls, back rooms and wherever possible during a period when theaters weren't available. "We did all sorts of plays, including all of Clifford Odets' early works — for $28 to $35 a week, living three in a room eating — if there was any food around", he recalled. Foster made his debut as a nightclub comic in Chicago in the late 1930s when he was pushed out on the floor suddenly to fill in for a stand-up comic. "I just got up and talked", he says. "I didn't know you were supposed to have an act. But I was offered the job at $125 a week." Foster always intended to go back to acting, but, staying with the money, Foster rapidly made a reputation in nightclubs and found himself in constant demand across the country. Post-war During World War II, Foster served in the United States Army. Upon his discharge, he returned to New York and became a variety-show favorite with an act comprising stories based on his curious childhood in Brooklyn. During the 1950s, Foster made several comedy short subjects for Universal-International as "Brooklyn's Ambassador to the World". Because of his popularity, he was chosen by George Pal as one of the military space crewmen on a trip to Mars in Conquest of Space. It was Garry Marshall, an old friend whom he helped get started as a comedy writer for Joey Bishop and other entertainers, who lured Foster again to Hollywood, first to appear in The Odd Couple and then to co-star in Laverne & Shirley, at which time he was living in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Among Foster's other television appearances were guest-starring roles in Ten-Four Productions' telefilm The Great American Traffic