Happy Birthday, Joe Frank

August 19, 1938 was the birthday of the late writer and radio performer Joe Frank. Born Joseph Langermann in Strasbourg, France and grew up in New York City after his family emigrated. In the course of his career he published fiction and wrote plays, did voiceovers, but ultimately he remains best known for extensive work in radio. He began working in New York City where he hosted a show that was a mixture of monologues, sketches and live music. He worked at NPR’s All Things Considered for years and wrote for NPR Playhouse. In 1986 he moved to Los Angeles and began a weekly show for KCRW. To listen to his work is to discover a new form of radio. In his very best work he has this dry ironic sensibility, work that’s full of irony, and takes strange odd turns. From the episode where he kept promising a great story but he was going to a commercial break so he could drink his tea, and when he comes back…. Later in life he contributed work to KCRW"‘s Unfictional program, these beautifully shaped pieces like Dreamers, A Hollywood True Story, The Poor Are Always With Us, and Isolation. He had one of those voices, but more than that he had this mind that was able to craft so many incredible stories and find new ways to present them. A true visionary.