1. Who is Joe Frank?
Description
This article is from the Joe Frank FAQ, by Richard Looney richard@wunderland.com with numerous contributions by others.
1. Who is Joe Frank?
Joe Frank is *not* the host of a long-running New York talk show, and a
different Joe Frank (Carollo) was responsible for those top-40 hits from
the early 1970s. Joe Frank is best known for the weekly radio show he
created in the studios of KCRW, Santa Monica between 1986 and 2001. His
program is picked up by some of the more progressive public radio
stations, since KCRW makes it available 'on the satellite' via SASS.
The following biography from KCRW was dated April 1990:
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Joe Frank was born in Strasbourg, France of a Viennese mother and
a Polish father. His family immigrated to New York City where Frank was
raised and educated. Frank, who received a B.A. from Hofstra University,
attended the Iowa Writers Workshop and subsequently taught at the Dalton
School in Manhattan.
In the mid 70's Frank joined WBAI, the New York Pacifica station,
as a volunteer. By 1977 he was the host of "In The Dark," a late night
entertainment program that featured Frank's monologues, improvised
sketches,
and live music. In 1978 Frank moved to Washington D.C., to anchor the
weekend
edition of "All Things Considered" on National Public Radio (NPR). From
1979
to 1985 he wrote, performed in, and produced 18 dramas for NPR Playhouse,
garnering many broadcasting honors, including the 1982 Broadcast Media
Award,
the 1983 Radio Program Award from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting,
two consecutive Gold Awards at the International Radio Festival of New York
(1983 & 1984), the American Nomination to the 1984 Prix Italia and a
Special
Commendation from the Berlin Prix Futura (1985).
In 1986, at the invitation of Ruth Hirschman, general manager of
KCRW, Frank moved to Los Angeles where he created his own weekly one-hour
program, "Joe Frank: Work In Progress" at the Santa Monica-based NPR
station.
In 1988 Frank won both the prestigious Major Armstrong Award and the
Corporation For Public Broadcasting Program Award for his three-part series
"Rent A Family."
In February 1989 "Rent A Family" was adapted and directed by Paul
Verdier at Stages Trilingual Theater. In March of 1989 Frank gave his first
one-man show ("Joe Frank: In Performance") at the Museum Of Contemporary
Art's Ahmanson Theater.
Frank has published two plays, "The Decline Of Spengler" (New
Directions 48, New York) and "A Tour Of The City" (Tanim Press, New York).
A volume of fiction, "The Queen Of Puerto Rico And Other Stories" will be
published by William Morrow (New York) next winter.
Montreal's Theater Anima will present Frank's award-winning "A Tour
Of The City" at Hangar Number 9 of the Old Port of Montreal in June 1990.
This drama, featuring a cast including performers from Cirque du Soleil,
will
be under the direction of Jordan Dietcher.
Michael Mann, creator of the television series "Miami Vice" and
"Crime Story," has purchased the rights to Frank's radio monologue, "Night"
and plans to adapt it for a feature film.
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Starting in 1993, Joe changed the title of his weekly show to In The
Dark. In early 1995 it was announced that Joe Frank would be 'taking a
break' from In The Dark, and the program was removed from the
KCRW schedule. Joe Frank began a new program called Somewhere Out
There on KCRW in January 1996. The shows that year were all monologues,
but afterwards, unlike previously, recycling of his old material became
common. In August 1997 Joe announced his departure from radio. In 1999
he returned with a new series, The Other Side, which was more
reality-based, more confessional, a window into Joe's life (as well
as others). A cornerstone of this series was "Karma" -- its story
spills over into many other programs. About the time of "Karma," The
Other Side programs began containing excerpts from the lectures of
Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield. The Other Side seems to have ceased
production in early 2002, and since Joe is no longer associated with
KCRW, his page on their website has gone dark -- but now he has one
of his own at www.joefrank.com .
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