Joe Franklin
From Wikinfo
Joseph Fortgang, born on the 9th of March, 1926, Bronx, New York, is a famous American radio, television and late night cable-TV personality known by his stage name, Joe Franklin. Franklin hosted the first television talk show in U.S. history, from a small studio in Manhattan in early 1950 on WJZ-TV, which later became WABC-TV, and which then moved to WOR-TV (WWOR-TV) where it ran for nearly 31 years, from 1962 to 1993, making his one of the longest running shows ever.
Billed as "The King of Nostalgia", Joe Franklin's top-rated show focused on old-time show-business personalities, Avant-Garde performers and pop bands. Eventually Franklin's late-night talk-show became a cult favorite among late-night cable television viewers. What made Joe Franklin’s show uniquely special was his ability to spot real talent and invite such relatively unknown talented persons to appear on a show that also featured very prominent and famous talented persons, including the most famous names of the day and times. Quite a few of today’s most famous and talented celebrity personalities had their first significant public exposure on The Joe Franklin Show, including the fictional rock group Spinal Tap, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Barbra Streisand and Julia Roberts. Frankin's show was most watched by entertainment industry insiders and celebrities themselves, which is why his show itself became the subject of parodies, including a famous one done by Billy Crystal from 1984 to 1985 on Saturday Night Live. One of Franklin’s very special abilities was his ability to bring up interesting related anecdotes and trivia about celebrity performance artists of an earlier era when only radio existed, well as information about yet relatively undiscovered up-and-coming future celebrities that the guest and audience alike would find surprising to say the least. It was said that you might only get your 15 minutes of (Andy Warhol) fame on more popular TV talk shows and then fade into the deep gap of public memory loss, but if you got on Joe Franklin’s show it was a good chance that your career would blossom big time! And that is why Joe Franklin never allowed anyone else to manage his show for him! He spent much of his time busy reviewing event the most Avant-Garde and obscure threatre and music critics, and then making calls to both people who he had helped make famous (who owed him the favor to appear on his show, years later) and these new talents, right from his incredibly clustered offices overlooking Times Square (the author of this wikinfo entry actually spent hours with Joe Franklin in his office, around the time of his own brush with minor fame). He was a master at avoiding those he knew did not really have that special ‘something’ (i.e. exceptional talent).
Eventually, in what appears to be related to his own personal self-image control issues related to his age, as well as the fact that his show had become too exhausting for him, he retired from TV and went back to only working on radio (WOR-AM) once a week. Currently Joe Franklin spends his waking hours at a restaurant he is part owner of, 'Joe Franklin's Memory Lane Restaurant', located in the heart of Manhattan's Theater District at 713 8th Avenue (45th Street and 8th Avenue) which opened in December 2000, and interviewing celebrities on Bloomberg Radio Network, both in New York City.
During his most remarkable 43-year TV career Joe Franklin interviewed over 12,000 guests, including several U.S. Presidents, silver screen legends, such as Charlie Chaplin, Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant.
Joe Franklin is also the author of 25 books, such as his popular ‘Classics of the Silent Screen’. In his 1995 autobiography ‘Up Late with Joe Franklin’, a chronicle of his long career, he claims that he had romantic intimacies with the likes of Marilyn Monroe and other female celebrities. He has appeared as himself in countless box-office hits, such as Spinal Tap (the Movie), Ghostbusters and Broadway Danny Rose, and was himself invited to appear on other late night talk shows.
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Mr.Infinity 09:53, 27 December 2007 (EST)
