Joe Frank

Early life

Joe Frank was born Joseph Langermann in Strasbourg, France, near the border of Germany to father Meier Langermann (then age 51) and mother Friederike (then age 27), while in transit from Germany, where they were living, although they were Polish citizens. Being Jewish, his family was fleeing Nazi Germany and moving to New York City, where they arrived on April 12, 1939. Legislation to allow the family and others into the country was passed by the US Congress twice, the first having been vetoed by President Roosevelt. His father died when Joe was five years old. The next year his mother married Freddy Frank and changed Joe's last name.

In his twenties, Frank studied at Hofstra University in New York and later at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He taught English literature at the Dalton School in Manhattan and, at the time, became interested in the power of radio.

Early radio career

In 1977, Frank started volunteering at Pacifica Network station WBAI in New York, performing experimental radio involving monologues, improvisational actors, and live music during late-night, free-form hours. In 1978, he moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as a co-anchor for the weekend edition of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," his first paying radio job.

During this period he wrote, performed in, and produced 18 dramas for the "NPR Playhouse," which won several awards. His 1982 monologue "Lies" was used as the inspiration for the Martin Scorsese movie After Hours, without permission. (He later settled out of court for a "handsome" settlement.)

KCRW, 1986–present

In 1986, on the invitation of Ruth Hirschman Seymour, the general manager of NPR's Santa Monica, California, affiliate KCRW, Frank moved to Santa Monica, where he wrote, produced, and performed in his own weekly hour-long radio program, "Joe Frank: Work In Progress."

While at KCRW, Frank received several accolades.

Joe Frank continued to work at KCRW until 2002, and his work evolved, as evidenced by the diverse series he produced. The first was "Work in Progress," then "In The Dark," followed by "Somewhere out There", and finally "The Other Side."

In 2012, Frank began to periodically produce half-hour shows for KCRW's "UnFictional" series. He continues to produce all-new shows for the series.

2002–present

Since 2002, Frank has performed on stage at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, Illinois; at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco; and in Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum and Largo at the Coronet, as well as other venues.

His 230-hour body of work continues to be re-aired on the Pacifica Radio affiliate station KPFA in Berkeley, California and many NPR stations including WNYC New York, and KCRW Santa Monica. The radio station at the University of California at Davis, KDVS and the independent station WFMU in Jersey City also re-air shows.

In 2012, Frank returned to KCRW for episodes of the station's "UnFictional" program.

Radio programs

Frank's radio programs are often dark and ironic and employ a dry sense of humor and the sincere delivery of ideas or stories that are patently absurd. Subject matter often includes religion, life's meaning, death, and Frank's relationships with women.

Frank's voice is distinctive, resonant, authoritative, and, because of his occasional voice-over work, often oddly familiar. At the 2003 Third Coast Festival, he explained that he was recording in Dolby and playing back without it, which created Joe's now familiar intimate and gritty sound. A 1987 Los Angeles Times article described it as a voice "like dirty honey" and "rich as chocolate."

Adding to the atmosphere of Frank's monologues are edited loops of instrumental music from sources as diverse as Miles Davis, Steve Reich, Tangerine Dream, Can, Air, and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

The repetitive cadence of the music and Frank's dry, announcer-like delivery are sometimes mixed with recorded phone calls with actor/friends such as Larry Block, Debi Mae West and Arthur Miller (not the playwright), broken into segments over the course of each hour-long program.

Frank's series "The Other Side" included excerpts from Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield's Dharma talks at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In an interview on KPFA's "Morning Show," Kornfield was asked about working with Joe Frank. Kornfield explained that, although he had never met or talked to Joe Frank or heard his show, he didn't mind Frank using the lectures and that many of his meditation students had found Kornfield through the show.

Other work

Inspiration to other artists

Frank's body of work has inspired a variety of other artists including:

Blue Jam, a late-1990s series made by British comedian Chris Morris broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in the UK, shares parallels with early editions of mid-1980s Work in Progress shows.

Voice-over and acting work

Joe Frank has performed voice overs for commercials including Zima and the Saturn Corporation. And he was the voice of the computer in Galaxy Quest and provides voiceovers for:

He also had a small acting role in The Game.

Awards

During NPR Playhouse

During Work In Progress