Joe Franklin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Franklin
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Franklin in 2007
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Joseph Fortgang
March 9, 1926 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
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| Died | January 24, 2015 (aged 88) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Columbia University (ungraduated) |
| Occupation | Television and radio personality |
| Known for | Inventing the talk show format |
| Children | 1 |
Joe Franklin (March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015), whose birth name was Joseph Fortgang, was an American radio and television host. He was also an author and actor from New York City. Franklin is famous for creating the very first talk show format. His television series began in January 1951 on WJZ-TV. It later moved to WOR-TV in 1962 and stayed there until 1993. This made his career one of the longest ever in broadcasting.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Joseph Fortgang was born on March 9, 1926, in The Bronx, New York. He was the older of two children. His parents, Anna and Martin Fortgang, were Jewish and came from Austria. As a teenager, Joe admired famous entertainers like Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor. Eddie Cantor even started buying jokes from young Joe. Joe later helped produce Cantor's show at Carnegie Hall. When he was 18, Franklin joined the United States Army and served during World War II.
A Career in Entertainment
Joe Franklin started writing skits for The Kate Smith Hour when he was just 14. At 16, he officially began his entertainment career. He worked as a "record picker" on a popular radio show called Make Believe Ballroom. There, he became known as "The Young Wreck with the Old Records." By the time he was 21, he had his own radio career.
The King of Nostalgia
Franklin was known for knowing a lot about popular culture from the early 1900s. This included silent films. People called him "The King of Nostalgia" and "The Wizard of Was." He loved focusing on old-time show business personalities. Joe was also a pioneer in promoting products on the air. He advertised drinks like Hoffman Beverages and Canada Dry ginger ale.
Inventing the Talk Show
A documentary by A&E called It's Only Talk, The Real Story Of America's Talk Shows gives Joe Franklin credit. It says he created the television talk show. Franklin was even listed in the Guinness World Records. He held the record for the longest-running continuous TV talk show host. His show ran for more than a decade longer than Johnny Carson's famous show.
Later Ventures and Radio Work
In 1999, Franklin teamed up with others to open "Joe Franklin's Memory Lane Restaurant." It was located in Broadway's theater district. After it closed, it reopened as "Joe Franklin's Comedy Club." Many famous comedians performed there. It was a place for new comics to get their start. The club closed in 2005.
After he stopped his TV show, Franklin focused on his overnight radio show. He played old records on WOR-AM on Saturday evenings. He also helped many aspiring entertainers. They would visit him at his busy Times Square office. Franklin's celebrity interviews, called "Nostalgia Moments," were heard daily. They were on the Bloomberg Radio Network until shortly before his death in 2015.
Famous Guests on the Show
Joe Franklin's show had a wide variety of guests. He hosted both very famous celebrities and less well-known performers. Sometimes, they were even on the same show! He claimed to have had Charlie Chaplin on his program. This was a bit doubtful since Chaplin left the U.S. in 1952.
Stars Who Got Their Start
Franklin took credit for discovering or giving early exposure to many big names. These included Al Pacino, Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks, and Woody Allen. He interviewed Andy Warhol and Howard Stern. He also spoke with William F. Buckley and Muhammad Ali. Other famous guests included Fred Astaire and John Wayne.
Some other guests he claimed to have interviewed were Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe. He even co-authored a book with Marilyn Monroe in 1953. Other guests included Jayne Mansfield, The Beastie Boys, Cary Grant, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, and Salvador Dalí. He also mentioned Elvis Presley, The Ramones, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Franklin also claimed to have interviewed five U.S. presidents. This included John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
It's important to know that some of these appearances are hard to confirm. There isn't much video from before the 1970s. Still, Bette Midler was the show's singer for a while. Barry Manilow was her accompanist. Joe Franklin never had a co-host. But his producer, Richie Ornstein, often appeared on the show. He would talk with guests and share interesting facts.
Many famous people got their first TV exposure on The Joe Franklin Show. These included Woody Allen, Andy Kaufman, Liza Minnelli, Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, and Robin Williams. Frank Sinatra reportedly appeared four times. Franklin often visited his restaurant. There, he did live interviews with entertainers like Carol Channing and Billy Crystal. Billy Crystal even famously impersonated Franklin on Saturday Night Live.
Joe Franklin in Media
Franklin appeared as himself in several New York-based films. These included Ghostbusters, Broadway Danny Rose, and 29th Street. He was also a guest on the first episode of This American Life. He gave host Ira Glass advice on how to have a successful show. He also appeared on an early episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
Parodies and Documentaries
Joe Franklin's show was often parodied. Billy Crystal famously made fun of him on Saturday Night Live in 1984–1985. Another local show, The Uncle Floyd Show, had a character called "Joe Frankfurter" who parodied Franklin.
In 1997, a documentary film called 50,000,000 Joe Franklin Fans Can't Be Wrong was made about him. He also appeared in The Aristocrats in 2005. This was a documentary about absurd humor. In 2014, Franklin starred in a short film called Jazzy for Joe. In the film, he raised an abandoned baby he found on his doorstep.
Personal Life
Joe Franklin married Lois Meriden. She was a performer with "fan dancers." They had one son named Bradley. Later, Jodi Fritz was Franklin's longtime companion.
Joe Franklin passed away from prostate cancer on January 24, 2015. He was 88 years old and died at a hospice in Manhattan.
Selected Books
- 1953 The Marilyn Monroe Story, R. Field Company; Greenberg.
- 1959 Classics of the Silent Screen: A Pictorial Treasury, The Citadel press (reprinted in 2013 by Literary Licensing, LLC); attributed to Franklin but actually written by noted film historian William K. Everson
- 1974 Joe Franklin's Memory Lane Cookbook, Lion Books, ISBN: 9780874602425
- 1978 A Gift for People , M. Evans Company, ISBN: 0-87131-244-1
- 1980 Joe Franklin's Awfully Corny Joke Book, Chelsea House Publishers, ISBN: 9780877541424
- 1981 Seventy Years of Great Film Comedians: A Joe Franklin Memory Lane Scrapbook, Global Communications, ISBN: 9780938294061
- 1985 Joe Franklin's Encyclopedia of Comedians, Bell Pub. Co., ISBN: 9780517467657
- 1992 Joe Franklin's Movie Trivia, Hastings House, ISBN: 9780803893481
- 2001 Up Late with Joe Franklin, Scribner, ISBN: 978-0-02-540775-6
- 2012 The Marilyn Monroe Story: The Intimate Inside Story of Hollywood's Hottest Glamour Girl., Campfire Network, ISBN: 1475004141.
