Gino Reynolds is Frank's estranged older brother, and a character in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Biography[]
60s[]
Gino was a bookmaker in a little "all-black" jazz club on the north side of town, so he was on friendly terms with its owner, Reggie. Due to Reggie owing Gino money, Reggie fulfills a favor from Gino and employs Frank as a busboy, due to Frank's love of "black music." When Reggie gets into an altercation with his lover Shadynasty for cheating on her, Gino breaks up their fight by asking Frank to drive Shadynasty home while he calms down Reggie.
With the money he earned as a bookie, Gino and Frank decide to open their own jazz club, naming it "Shadynasty's" in honor of Frank's wish to feature Shadynasty herself. When Reggie stops by one night, Gino mistakes Reggie for threatening Frank, and beats him with a bat. His actions lead him to be incarcerated for 2 years in prison, while Reggie is incarcerated for 6 years due to assumed racism.
70s[]
Gino is released from his sentence in the 70s, and Shadynasty's has transitioned into a disco hall. He picks up a cocaine habit while in prison, and tries to introduce it to Frank despite Frank's insistence that they should keep their club drug free. Gino is seen frequently abusing cocaine with clubgoers during this time while Frank is busy managing the club. Eventually, Reggie is released from prison as well and confronts Gino as a member of the Black Panthers, seeking to remove drugs from the neighborhood and club that was most likely introduced by Gino. When Reggie reaches into his coat pocket to give Gino a pamphlet, Frank mistakes Reggie reaching for a weapon, and shoots Reggie in the arm with a pistol. Gino hurriedly ushers Frank from the scene of the crime, telling him to go hide in Colombia with his cocaine contacts to avoid law enforcement. He promises Frank he would take care of Shadynasty in the meanwhile.
During the years Gino has Frank hiding in Colombia, he developed feelings for Shadynasty and intercepted the love letters Frank wrote to her, and destroys them. He is also presumably the one to introduce Shadynasty to cocaine at this time, and the two became lovers. When Frank can no longer stand hiding in Colombia and calls Gino to ask to come back to Philadelphia, Gino claims the situation is still "too hot", although it is likely a convenient lie to keep Frank away from Shadynasty. Frank returns to Philadelphia without Gino's permission, and finds Gino doing cocaine with Shadynasty. When Frank gives Shadynasty an ultimatum to return to him or stay with Gino and the drugs, Shadynasty chooses to stay with the drugs.
Present[]
It is unclear how long Gino and Shadynasty stayed together, but Gino nevertheless intercepts love letters sent to Shadynasty in the present day, all of them written from someone calling themselves her "one and only." Gino mistakes this for Frank, and is the reason why he confronts Frank at Paddy's Pub, although Frank dismisses that the letters were written by him. They all go to the local airport as the last letter written to Shadynasty asked her to meet at "five o' clock, terminal C" to find the identity of who wrote the letters, and try to win back Shadynasty's love. When they find Shadynasty, she reveals the letters were from Reggie and that she had loved Reggie all along, and that the Reynolds brothers had been keeping them apart. Reggie meets up with Shadynasty, but Gino watches as airport security detains Reggie for being on a no-fly list and Shadynasty runs after them. Gino agrees with Frank that Shadynasty has actually "not aged well," and both easily forego pursuing Shadynasty altogether.
Notes[]
- Danny DeVito is actually older than the actor for Gino, Jon Polito, by six years.
- Frank has told Dennis and Dee that Gino is dead (in particular, "his guts sucked out of his asshole through a hot tub drain").
- Frank's love for guns, gambling and drugs was most likely influenced by Gino's behavior shown in this episode.