New York Radio, TV Talk Show Pioneer Joe Franklin Dies at 88

New York radio, TV talk show pioneer Joe Franklin dies at 88

Posted by TBN_News On 01/26/2015

(March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015)

Joe Franklin was born as Joseph Fortgang on March 9, 1926. Both parents were Jewish. 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. As a child, his closest friend was an older boy named Bernard Schwartz, later known as Tony Curtis, with whom Franklin shared a passion for motion pictures. 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". He was 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, (Actuality Productions) 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.

After retiring from his television show, Franklin concentrated on his overnight radio show, playing old records on WOR-AM on Saturday evenings. Till mid-January 2015, his celebrity interviews called "Nostalgia Moments" appeared daily on the Bloomberg Radio Network.

Franklin died of prostate cancer at a Manhattan hospice on January 24, 2015 at the age of 88.

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