The Funny Rhode Island TV News Prank That Got National Attention

For as long as he anchored the morning news on WJAR in Rhode Island, Frank Coletta was a bastion of accuracy, fairness and calm under pressure; an unflappable, old-school journalist who seemed frazzled only when one of those "dastardly computers" thwarted his on-air delivery.

He was a steady presence through good times and bad, a guy you could count on to tell the truth.

He was also, first and foremost, human.

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So, it might not be surprising to learn that Coletta fell victim to pranksters during NBC 10's Sunrise one morning. The surprising part is how much attention it got him.

The NBC 10 First Birthdays Prank

One of the signature features of WJAR's Sunrise was the roll-call of local children celebrating their first birthdays. It was an endearing break from the heavy headlines of the day, a chance to get Mom, Dad and the whole family to tune in to see and hear the new baby's name mentioned on TV.

Coletta read the list like clockwork every morning, wishing kids far too young to understand English -- or birthdays -- a happy first rotation around the sun.

Everything was swell and prank-free until one fateful morning in October 2012 when a sly jokester took over the segment.

"Let's pass some greetings along," Coletta said, flashing a warm smile.

"Happy first birthday, Ijaz Fahted of Johnston," Coletta said. The name was now dead-center on the screen set against a backdrop of colorful balloons.

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"Happy first birthday, Dawn Keibals of Cranston."

Those names might not look suspicious at first glance, but the joke is in how you say them. Try a few pronunciations and see what you come up with.

It's unclear how quickly Coletta and his team realized they had been tricked but it didn't take long for the rest of the country to figure it out.

Jimmy Kimmel Shares the Rhode Island Prank

Maybe the person behind the deceptively spelled filthy names knew October was the time to strike. Rhode Island and surrounding states were dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The newsroom might have been occupied with too many important matters to realize something strange was afoot.

By the time the segment aired, it was too late.

That night, Jimmy Kimmel Live! featured the clip in its opening monologue.

"Three counties in Rhode Island are asking for federal disaster relief. They got hit pretty hard but not hard enough to blow out the candles at the local NBC affiliate there," Kimmel said, introducing the video in front of a theater audience in New York City.

The late-night host, also quite the prankster, showed the names twice each, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Whoever pulled that one, congratulations," Kimmel said, flashing the OK sign. "That was well done."

Hey, no one got hurt.

Coletta recovered just fine from the mishap, hosting Sunrise until his retirement in 2019 after 40 years at Cranston-based WJAR. With the revered Rhode Islander went a lot of invaluable institutional knowledge.  

The prankster's identity remains unknown which means they could be out there, lurking in the shadows, ready with more fake names, waiting to prey on another innocent New England newscaster.

How dastardly.