Francis Gress, Jr. was born in Brooklyn, NY. As an
infant his father called him "his goo-goo baby" this became Googy. As
he was raised in Connecticut - where there is a state law that you must
have a stupid nickname - his stuck.
After high school, Googy attended the University of Southern
California, where he earned a BFA. He then moved to New York to begin
his career. While there he studied with Warren Robertson. He earned his
SAG card in 1981 doing a PSA for the Social Security Administration.
Soon after he was cast in The Flamingo Kid, he still counts many of the
people he met on that film, in particular, Brian McNamara, Matt Dillon,
and Fisher Stevens, as some of his dearest friends.
By the mid 80's he had returned to L.A. and he has worked steadily
since. A true highlight of his many years in L.A. was doing Apollo 13
as it brought with it one of his most cherished rituals, his Thursday
lunches with his "Apollo Girlfriends" - Christian Clemenson, Wayne
Duvall, Chris Ellis, Andy Milder, and John Short, all of whom were
Mission Control specialists in the film.
Googy is married to the love of his life, the actress and writer,
Clarinda Ross, and they live with their three kids, Clara, Frank, and
Gus in Los Angeles.