People named Joe Franklin

Joe Franklin (1926 – 2015) Born Although he was born as Joseph Fortgang March 9, 1926 in The Bronx, New York, U.S. 100 Million people knew him as Joe Franklin. His son's name is Bradley Franklin. Died January 24, 2015 (aged 88) Manhattan, New York, U.S. Alma mater Columbia University Occupation Television and radio personality Joe Franklin (March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015), born Joseph Fortgang, was an American radio and television host personality, author and actor from New York City. His television series debuted in January 1951 on WJZ-TV (later WABC-TV), moving to WOR-TV (later WWOR-TV) in 1962, remaining there until 1993, one of the longest running uninterrupted careers in broadcasting history. Franklin was born Joseph Fortgang on March 9, 1926, in The Bronx, New York, the elder of two children, to Austrian Jewish parents, Anna (Heller) and Martin Fortgang. He acknowledged in his memoirs, Up Late With Joe Franklin, (which was written with R. J. Marx), that his press materials had long said, purposely, that he had been born in 1928, but he planned to come clean about his real birth date. As a teenager, Franklin "followed around" Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor, the latter of whom eventually began buying jokes from the young Franklin and whose Carnegie Hall show he later produced. At 14, Franklin began writing skits for The Kate Smith Hour; and at 16, Franklin officially began his entertainment career as a record picker on radio sensation Martin Block's Make Believe Ballroom where he became known as "The Young Wreck with the Old Records." By the time he was 21, he embarked on a radio career. He was also considered to be an authority on popular culture of the first half of the 20th century, including silent films. He was called "The King of Nostalgia" and "The Wizard of Was" for focusing on old-time show-business personalities. Franklin was also a pioneer in promoting products such as Hoffman Beverages and Canada Dry ginger ale on the air. A&E's documentary It's Only Talk, The Real Story Of America's Talk Shows credits Franklin as the creator of the television talk show. Franklin was listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest running continuous on-air TV talk show host, more than a decade longer than Johnny Carson's run. In 1999, Franklin partnered with Producer Steve Garrin and Restaurant Mogul Dennis Riese to open Joe Franklin’s Memory Lane Restaurant at 45th Street and Eighth Avenue in New York City. The restaurant converted to become Joe Franklin’s Comedy Club. The club ceased operations after losing its lease in 2003. After retiring from his television show, Franklin concentrated on his overnight radio show, playing old records on WOR-AM on Saturday evenings and mentoring thousands of aspiring entertainers who for decades sought an audience with him at his notoriously cluttered Times Square office. Franklin's celebrity interviews, known as "Nostalgia Moments", appeared daily on the Bloomberg Radio Network until mid-January 2015, shortly before his death. Famous guests Franklin's guests included an odd mix of actual celebrities and low level performers, sometimes on the same panel. He claimed to have had Charlie Chaplin on his program, a dubious statement since Chaplin left the United States in 1952, shortly after Franklin's TV debut. Other guest claims include John Wayne, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe (with whom Franklin co-authored "The Marilyn Monroe Story" in 1953), Jayne Mansfield, The Beastie Boys, Cary Grant, Andy Warhol, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Salvador Dali, Rudy Vallee, Jimmy Durante, Madonna, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Bing Crosby, Jerry Lewis, The Belmonts, Elvis Presley, The Ramones, Lou Albano and five US presidents (including John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon). As with the Chaplin claim, some of these appearances were unable to be independently confirmed based on a lack of evidence, since still pictures taken on the set do not exist for several of the people listed, and little video from before the 1970s survives. Bette Midler was the show's in-house singer for a time, and Elizabeth Joyce was his in-house psychic/astrologer. Franklin never employed a co-host, but his producer, Richie Ornstein, was a standard feature on the Joe Franklin Show who interacted with guests and discussed trivia. Woody Allen, Andy Kaufman, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, Robin Williams, John Belushi and Richard Pryor got their first television exposure on The Joe Franklin Show. Frank Sinatra reportedly appeared four times. In December 2000, Franklin partnered with producer Steve Garrin and restaurant mogul Dennis Riese to open "Joe Franklin's Memory Lane Restaurant" on West 45th Street in Broadway's theater district,[6] where Franklin appeared frequently and conducted live, in-person interviews with entertainers such as Carol Channing, Anita O'Day and Billy Crystal, who impersonated Franklin on Saturday Night Live. After the restaurant closed in 2004 it reopened the following year as "Joe Franklin's Comedy Club" on West 50th Street. Many name comedians came to the club and performed on stage to break in their new material, and many aspiring comics got their first stage time there. That venue closed in 2005. In media Franklin's show was first parodied by Billy Crystal during the 1984–1985 season of Saturday Night Live. On the locally produced program The Uncle Floyd Show, host Floyd Vivino parodied Franklin as "Joe Frankfurter". In 1997, Franklin was profiled in the documentary film 50,000,000 Joe Franklin Fans Can't Be Wrong (1997), directed by Joshua Brown. Also in 1997, Franklin was satirized by Drew Friedman in * Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead is Purely Coincidental (with Josh Alan Friedman) (Fantagraphics Books, 1997)

Joe M Franklin of Houston, Harris County, Texas was born on September 10, 1906, and died at age 65 years old in November 1971.

Joe Franklin Jr of Somerville, Burleson County, TX was born on June 13, 1915, and died at age 86 years old on September 7, 2001.

Joe B Franklin of Lamesa, Dawson County, TX was born on September 3, 1925, and died at age 70 years old on May 17, 1996.

Joe Franklin Jr of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, TX was born on May 2, 1952, and died at age 52 years old on September 16, 2004.

Joe B Franklin of Columbus, Lowndes County, MS was born on November 5, 1923, and died at age 84 years old on August 14, 2008.

Joe E Franklin of Brookhaven, Lincoln County, MS was born on May 13, 1911, and died at age 77 years old on August 8, 1988.

Joe R Franklin of Leeds, Jefferson County, AL was born on July 6, 1927, and died at age 75 years old on October 4, 2002.

Joe Franklin of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama was born on July 29, 1915, and died at age 64 years old in November 1979.

Joe K Franklin of Elizabethton, Carter County, TN was born on May 28, 1927, and died at age 73 years old on May 28, 2000.

Joe K Franklin of Kingsport, Sullivan County, TN was born on May 4, 1926, and died at age 80 years old on July 12, 2006.

Joe Don Franklin Sr of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN was born on May 9, 1914, and died at age 81 years old on August 31, 1995. Joe Franklin was buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery Section CC Site 40 1200 Bailey Avenue, in Chattanooga.

Joe T Franklin of Alpine, Overton County, TN was born on September 3, 1917, and died at age 93 years old on June 5, 2011.

Joe Franklin of Hephzibah, Richmond County, Georgia was born on March 5, 1920, and died at age 58 years old in May 1978.

Joe Franklin of Smithfield, Johnston County, NC was born on October 12, 1912, and died at age 86 years old on August 27, 1999.

Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joe Ann Franklin.

Joe Franklin of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA was born on July 13, 1922, and died at age 62 years old on May 21, 1985. Joe Franklin was buried at Riverside National Cemetery Section 20A Site 2548 22495 Van Buren Boulevard, in Riverside.

Joe Stanley Franklin of Detroit, Wayne County, MI was born on October 8, 1934, and died at age 75 years old on September 20, 2010. Joe Franklin was buried at Great Lakes National Cemetery Section CC20 Row B Site 41 4200 Belford Road, in Holly.

Joe E Franklin of San Antonio, Bexar County, TX was born on August 28, 1915, and died at age 65 years old on July 27, 1981. Joe Franklin was buried at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery Section 4 Site 1057 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road, in San Antonio.

Joe W Franklin of Yucaipa, San Bernardino County, CA was born on November 10, 1929, and died at age 76 years old on December 20, 2005. Joe Franklin was buried at Riverside National Cemetery Section 49B Site 3294 22495 Van Buren Boulevard, in Riverside.

Joe B Franklin of Las Vegas, Clark County, NV was born on June 15, 1925, and died at age 69 years old on April 30, 1995. Joe Franklin was buried at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery Section C Site 440 1900 Buchanan Blvd., in Boulder City.

Joe Franklin died in September 1963. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joe Franklin.

Joe Henry Franklin was born on October 15, 1940, and died at age 71 years old on May 13, 2012. Joe Franklin was buried at Tahoma National Cemetery Section D Row A Site 108 18600 Se 240th St, in Kent, Wa. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joe Henry Franklin.

Joe Thomas Franklin was born on June 20, 1949, and died at age 55 years old on May 22, 2005. Joe Franklin was buried at West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery Section HH Site 17031 4000 Forest Hill-irene Rd, in Memphis, Tn. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joe Thomas Franklin.

Joe Franklin Jr was born on November 8, 1933, and died at age 51 years old on December 20, 1984. Joe Franklin was buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery Section VV Site 2 1200 Bailey Avenue, in Chattanooga, Tn. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joe Franklin Jr.

Joe Earl Franklin was born on November 16, 1953, and died on November 18, 1953. Joe Franklin was buried at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery Section PE Site 28E P.o. Box 6342 - 5200 Fred Wilson Avenue, in El Paso, Tx. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joe Earl Franklin.

Joe Franklin Jr was born on July 31, 1945, and died at age 41 years old on July 29, 1987. Joe Franklin was buried at Ft. Smith National Cemetery Section 15 Site 153 522 Garland Avenue And South 6th St, in Fort Smith, Ar. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joe Franklin Jr.

Joe W Franklin of Lorman, Jefferson County, MS was born on July 19, 1954, and died at age 49 years old on January 9, 2004.

Joe Franklin of Clarksdale, Coahoma County, MS was born on July 27, 1944, and died at age 59 years old on March 30, 2004.