Born and raised in Rhode Island, Frechette originally wanted to pursue a music career. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, he moved to New York where he began appearing in stage productions. In 1982, he relocated to the West Coast where he landed his first feature role in "Grease 2". TV appearances followed, including guest roles on "Hills Street Blues", "Taxi" and "The Facts of Life". Beginning in the mid-1980s, Frechette began to land high profile roles on critically praised series, usually portraying gay men, including "L.A. Law", "Law & Order" and "thirtysomething". The latter led to an Emmy nomination and an annual appearance on the show. In 1989, when appearing on Broadway in his breakthrough stage role in "Eastern Standard", the actor was simultaneously co-starring in the short-lived, gritty NBC series "Dream Street". In the latter, Frechette was the irresponsible older brother in a working-class family. He continued alternating stage performances ("Our Country's Good" 1991; "The Destiny of Me" 1993) with high profile TV work ("Picket Fences" CBS, 1992; "Barbarians at the Gate" HBO, 1993). In 1996, he returned to series TV as a computer hacker working with the police on the NBC drama series "Profiler".