Joe Franklin Biography

Fast Facts

• Began his career as a writer for singer Kate Smith's variety program in the 1940s and went on to host "Vaudeville Isn't Dead․"
• Quote: "I was the only guy who never had a preproduction meeting․ You don't rehearse your dinner conversation․ I'm not saying I was right, but I lasted 43 years․"
• Started the talk show that made him famous, "Joe Franklin - Disc Jockey," in 1951 and kept it going for more than 40 years, never missing a show and claiming to have interviewed some 300,000 guests
• Best known as a radio and television personality in New York who is credited with developing the talk show format
• Continued working even after his show ended in 1993, appearing on Bloomberg Radio and hosting an oldies program on WOR Radio up until just a week before his death
• Often used his show as a method of promoting up-and-coming artists, booking the likes of Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand and Bruce Springsteen when they were just starting out
• Made a cameo appearance in the 1984 film "Ghostbusters" and was once parodied in a 1980s episode of "Saturday Night Live" by Billy Crystal
• A collector of memorabilia, he owned one of Greta Garbo's shoes and one of Jack Benny's violins in addition to his 12,500 pieces of sheet music and 10,000 silent films