Up Late with Joe Franklin [Hardcover]

Joe Franklin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1995

Filled with hilarious anecdotes from 300,000 interviews during forty-three years on a late-late-night show, the longest-running talk show host in TV history offers a memoir of the ""greats, near-greats, ingrates, Has-beens, and Never Weres."" 25,000 first printing. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From 1950 to 1993, Franklin reigned as the king of very-late-night TV in New York City, attracting innumerable viewers with his inimitable blend of old records, old movies, old photos and old celebrities, together with an assortment of talented, semitalented and untalented oddballs. His program was cluttered, with estimates of his total guest list running between 200,000 and 300,000. And because the list included almost every celebrity from the 1920s to the '90s, it would be easier to list the few who did not appear than to catalogue those who did. Franklin (born Fortgang) is a native New Yorker who succeeded in radio before moving to television and now has gone back to radio. His hundreds of sparkling anecdotes make this book, written with freelancer Marx, a cornucopia of humor for show biz addicts. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Franklin's memories provide entertaining reading for those interested in early radio and television programs and performers. Franklin started his long career in the early 1940s working behind the scenes in radio with Kate Smith, Ted Collins, and Martin Block, to name a few. Since the early Fifties, Franklin has hosted a variety of television shows, some of which lasted for decades. He is a fixture in New York, where he is still on-air on radio, and just gave up his television program last year. Franklin drops names like crazy, but he actually knew those early entertainers and he knows many of those currently entertaining. His anecdotes about Eddie Cantor, Rudy Vallee, and numerous singers, magicians, and comedians?many of whom worked in venues and styles that will never be seen again?are fascinating. While not essential for any collection, these reminiscences are recommended for general entertainment and pop culture collections.
-?Judy Hauser, Oakland Schs. Lib. Svcs., Waterford, Mich.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (February 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0025407759
• ISBN-13: 978-0025407756
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,222,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book about show business & New York, March 25, 2003

By 

Robert B. Makinson "Robert B. Makinson" (Brooklyn New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Up Late with Joe Franklin (Hardcover)

There are many interesting anecdotes about the greats and the near greats (whatever that is?) I think it means when they mention your name, they have to explain who you are. "Greats, near greats and ingrates" is a Damon Runyon line. Mr. Franklin is even somewhat kind and forgiving to the ingrates...As to what is Joe Franklin really like? There are plenty of stories about his youth, his rise in show business, his marriage and his son. If you like sexy tidbits about the stars and about Joe also, there are plenty. If you don"t like that stuff, or you think it's overdone, skip over it...The funniest pages in the book, at least to this reviewer, are about three "never-weres" who had a "fixation" on Joe Franklin. Busted out laughing reading that stuff. But some of the stories are very sad. This isn't all light reading. Some are mysterious (you wonder how that happened)...The book (copyrighted 1995) seems to celebrate the "retirement of Joe
Franklin." If that was true, he seems to be making a big comeback. He's as active as ever and has a great restaurant near Times Square, and it's a great New York book. It happened in New York.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Joe Franklin and Mr.Marx try to tell Joe's story..Not!, March 31, 2003

By 

Kevin S.Butler (Mamaroneck,New York,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Up Late with Joe Franklin (Hardcover)

In his long awaited autobiography.Joe Franklin and his co author:Mr.R.J.Marx try to recall Joe's life story.From his humble beginnings in The Bronx,NYC during the hideious days of The Great Depression to his first encounter with a former star:George M.Cohan to his early job in radio as a record librian and research asistant first to Martin Block(for Mr.Block's "Make Believe Ballroom Time"Show)and later for Paul("Pop")Whiteman.Before Franklin finally got his own radio talk/music shows on stations like WJZ.To his earliest days on TV: First on WJZ/WABC TV Ch.7 in NYC with"Joe Franklin's Memory Lane!"to his later years on WOR TV/WWOR TV Ch.9 in NYC and in Seacaucus,NJ with"The Joe Franklin Show" &"When Movies Were Movies"and his most recent nostalgia talk/music program on WOR Radio.While the book tries to tell Franklin's life story.Most of the bio's facts are questionable.Since Joe does not go into alot of details about his career and his disrespect for NYC based kids tv hosts/performers is eveident.He gets the facts about the hosts/performers of WJZ/WABC TV Ch.7 NYC's"Time For Fun"/"The Johnny Jellybean Show"wrong.Since Joe Bova..never played:"Johnny Jellybean"on that show(The role was played first by Bill Britten and later by Keith Hefner).Mr.Bova did host:"Time For Fun!"but as "Uncle Joe".Franklin also gets the facts wrong about Claude Kirchner.Mr.Kirchner never played a clown on his WOR TV Ch.9 NYC based cartoon shows.He played a circus ringmaster.Who worked with a clown puppet"Clownie".But he never wore a clown suit and make up on his NYC based kids tv shows and Franklin also gets the facts wrong about who hosted:"The Tommy Seven Show".The host/performer..who played the sad faced tramp clown was not:Keith Hefner..but The Late Ed Bakey.Mr.Bakey passed away in May,1988 not Mr.Hefner.This book does little more have Mr.Franklin give the readers a random smapling of his life stories.With inaccuate facts and nasty lies about his colleages in NYC tv added to the manuscript for those lovers of gossip mongering.This is one memiors not worth having.Kevin S.Butler.