KTVU Anchor Frank Mallicoat Reflects on his Miramonte Roots

    After a 40-year broadcasting career, local news anchor Frank Mallicoat compares creating a TV show with building a house. “Every day we gather the materials, not knowing exactly what we are going to get, build the narrative that we occupy for the day and invite the public,” he said. “At the end of the day, the home is torn down, and we build a new one.” As the son of a general contractor, the metaphor fits.
    Mallicoat’s childhood home straddled town borders. “Half our house, including my brother’s room, was in Moraga, but my room and my parents’ were in Orinda,” he recalled. The mailman was from Orinda, but taxes placed them in Moraga, so Mallicoat attended Los Perales Elementary and Joaquin Moraga Intermediate. In high school, he was one of 50 Moraga kids at Miramonte High. After graduating in 1977, he attended UC Berkeley.
    Growing up in the 60s and 70s, Mallicoat has fond memories of camping with Boy Scout Troop 246, riding his minibike in the orchards now part of Moraga Country Club, ice sledding at Orinda Country Club, bowling at Rheem Valley Bowl and playing pinball near Rheem Theater. “It was a sheltered life,” he said. “We didn’t get out that much.”
    A lifelong sports enthusiast, Mallicoat competed in baseball, soccer and wrestling at Miramonte. His wrestling coach, Roger Durant, had the biggest impact on him. Durant, who retired in 1996 with numerous accolades, taught Mallicoat many life lessons. “He even taught me how to tie a tie,” Mallicoat said. The team was required to wear suits and ties to matches, sometimes drawing jeers from opponents. Durant’s advice was simple: “Smile, get on the scale and then go out and beat them on the mat. That’s where you’ll earn your respect.”
    At UC Berkeley, Mallicoat wrestled for two years before switching to crew. He pursued a communications degree to prepare for a career in sports broadcasting. His love for Lake Tahoe led him to live there with friends after graduation where he operated ski lifts and bartended at Rosie’s, a job he enjoyed.
    However, a conversation with his father changed his course. “He told me, ‘You’re a really good bartender,’” Mallicoat recalled. “I said, ‘I know, Dad, thank you,’ Then he said, ‘You’re 25, and in ten years when you’re 35 there’s something I don’t want to tell you.’ I asked, ‘What?’ He replied, ‘That you’re a really good bartender.’”
    After that conversation, Mallicoat pursued a career in sports broadcasting, which took him to Eureka, Detroit and New England. He had always dreamed of being a sportscaster, and said, “When I was young, I’d watch any sport, then mimic the commentators, like it was a song.”
    Mallicoat switched to news features in 2001, covering heavy topics like 9/11. He returned to the Bay Area in 2010 and joined KTVU in 2016 where he now anchors the weekend news.
    Career highlights include meeting four United States presidents and reporting on iconic sports events such as Tom Brady wins and Celtics legend Larry Bird’s retirement. Mallicoat interviewed Bird at his home after he won the Olympic gold medal. “It’s been a great ride for me,” he said. “Every day is different, and I’ve met incredible people.”
    If he were to address today’s Miramonte seniors, Mallicoat would encourage them to venture outside California to broaden their perspective before returning to their roots. When he visits Moraga or Orinda today, his routine includes getting an ice cream at Loard’s and filling up at Mash Gas, where (of course) he picks up The Orinda News.