Frank Attwood is an On-Purpose Person in creation. It hasn’t always been easy for Frank, but he’s in his element professionally and personally. He performs a variety of amazing one man shows based on the remarkable life of Thomas Edison, my boyhood hero.
I remember the day Frank called me to brainstorm some life and business
decisions he was facing.
Photo: Here is Frank Attwood in his portrayal of Thomas Edison. You just have to catch his show sometime.
Frank has been a friend since April 1990 when we met in a CEO Group.
At the time, Frank was the owner of large local residential real estate
brokerage business. Smart, successful, kind, but distracted with a
searching heart was the way I would describe Frank back then. In time,
he set off looking for a different path that would by many accounts
break most men. Career changes, divorce, caregiving for a dying
father, and a couple modest attempts at business colored a decade in
the wilderness. Through it all, however, Frank pursued an acting career
with vigor and modest success.
The day Frank called me, he was sorting his options to help pay the
bills in order to support his acting habit. Casually, he mentioned he
was thinking about doing a one-man show based on Thomas Alva Edison.
What did I think of that. My ears perked up. Edison was, after all, my boyhood idol. When I
told Frank that fact, he told me he shared the affection for this
inventor’s inventor.
It was in his voice. Frank’s a very excitable and energetic guy. The
average person might not have picked up the extra lilt in his voice as he
spoke about Edison. I had known him for well over a decade. This
opportunity fit everything I knew about Frank. In the intervening
years, Frank researched, wrote scripts, practiced his performances, and
assumed (on stage) the identity of Mr. Edison. Today, he travels the
country performing his acts for audiences in business, technology,
power, creativity, and history. The most remarkable aspect of his
Edison events is that it isn’t just a show. Frank’s inventive ending
involves an open mike question and answer session where the audience
gets to interact with Edison. Taking questions from the audience in
character is just the kind of adventure Mr. Edison would have liked.
Check out Frank’s Tom Edison on these video clip:
Attwood as Edison
YouTube / Edison