|
|
| Re: RIP Joe Franklin (1259944) | |||
 |
|||
| Home > OTChat | |||
|
[ Read Responses | Post a New Response | Return to the Index ] |
|
||
|
Re: RIP Joe Franklin |
|
|
Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Jan 25 03:55:43 2015, in response to Re: RIP Joe Franklin, posted by Dan Lawrence on Sun Jan 25 00:52:05 2015. He was born as Joseph Fortgang back somewhere in the mid 1920's. Joe Franklin was his "stage name." He got hooked up as a teenager with the old WNEW-AM in NYC and was Martin Block's original record picker back then. What trains are to foamers, old records were to Uncle Joe. He was really into old silent movies, and fell in with the old Broadway crowd such as Doreen Davis, Kitty Carlisle and many others of the vintage when Broadway theater was at the top of its game back in the old days.Since then he did radio on WOR, and then became a mainstay on WOR-TV which is where I met him as an engineer, hand-picked by Doreen to work with him on his shows. When RKO General lost the license, he was forced to move out of his office in the WOR-TV building on Broadway and 42nd Street down to 33rd street where he just kept on keeping on. WOR-TV became WWOR-TV and moved across the river to New Jersey in what was once the "Tiger Racket Club" in Paramus which was owned by Bill Bradley, the famous NJ politician and crook. Then again, RKO General was run by crooks, so somehow it fit. Heh. Joe was a really great guy although he lived in his own little world and let few into it. It was a pleasure for me to be one of the few that he let himself be free with. He was also good friends with John Zacherle, who I worked with also at WNEW-FM before both of us flew the coop over to WPLJ after he had his fill of enough Jonathan Schwartz tantrums and his contract was up. :) Uncle Joe was a true NYC treasure, brought to you tonight by Martian Paint, thank you. :) |
|
|
|