Frank Wills

Frank Wills (February 4, 1948 – September 27, 2000) was an American security guard best known for his role in foiling the June 17, 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee inside the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Then 24, Wills called the police after discovering that locks at the complex had been tampered with. Five men were arrested inside the Democratic headquarters, which they had planned to bug. The arrests triggered the Watergate scandal and eventually the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon in 1974.thumb Former residence (red building) of Frank Wills, located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Although hailed as a hero, Wills did not receive a promotion or much financial reward. Later, he had difficulty finding work. He did media appearances and played himself in the 1976 film All the President's Men, but spent much of his life jobless and in poverty.

Early life Wills, who was of African American heritage, was born in Savannah, Georgia, United States, on February 4, 1948. His parents separated when he was a child and he was primarily raised by his mother, Margie.

After dropping out of high school in 11th grade, Wills studied heavy machine operations in Battle Creek, Michigan and earned his equivalency degree from the Job Corps. Wills noticed a piece of duct tape on one of the door locks when he was making his first round. Details that emerged during their questioning and trials triggered the Watergate scandal. The five men arrested were Bernard L. Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, James W. McCord Jr., and Frank Sturgis.

One story reports that after the Watergate break-in, he received a raise of $2.50

According to The New York Times, Wills quit his job because he did not receive a raise. He then struggled staying employed because media opportunities and appearances kept him away from work, most of which consisted of minimum-wage jobs. In 1979, Wills was convicted of shoplifting and fined $20. Four years later, he was convicted of shoplifting a pair of sneakers from a store in Augusta, Georgia, and was sentenced to one year in prison. That same year, Wills told a Boston Globe reporter: "I put my life on the line. I went out of my way.... If it wasn't for me, Woodward and Bernstein would not have known anything about Watergate. This wasn't finding a dollar under a couch somewhere." Wills was quoted saying: "Everybody tells me I'm some kind of hero, but I certainly don't have any hard evidence. I did what I was hired to do but still I feel a lot of folk don't want to give me credit, that is, a chance to move upward in my job". and the folk singer Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick also recorded it at WNYC on January 1, 1975.

Wills portrayed himself, discovering the break-in in the opening scene of the 1976 film, All the President's Men.

An alternative version of events is depicted in the 1994 film, Forrest Gump, in which Wills (voice actor uncredited) is alerted to the burglary when answering a call from the eponymous hotel guest who was disturbed by the burglars’ flashlights.

In 2004, an imaginary scene of Wills discovering the taped door latches was enacted in the film She Hate Me, directed by Spike Lee, starring Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington.

In 2017, Wills discovering the taped door latches was enacted as the closing scene of the film The Post, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks.

In 2022, Wills was portrayed by Patrick Walker in the political thriller television limited series Gaslit on Starz, starring Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, which depicts Wills making his rounds at the hotel and discovering the door being taped open two different times.

In 2023, Wills was portrayed by Eddie K. Robinson Jr. in the third episode of the HBO miniseries White House Plumbers.

In 2026, Wesley Brown published the novel Looking for Frank Wills with the publishing house McSweeneys. The novel blends historical fact with fiction to examine the personal toll of Wills's role in American history.