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Joe Frank (August 19, 1938 – January 15, 2018) was a French-born American radio artist. He was known best for his often philosophical, humorous, surrealist, and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas. He was born in Strasbourg, France; his family escaped the Holocaust when he was an infant.
He taught at Dalton School in Manhattan and soon discovered radio. Joe Frank began his radio career in 1976 at WBAI, in New York City. In his Saturday night show, “In the Dark,” he experimented with live freeform radio featuring his monologues and actor improvisations. It was during this period that Joe’s bizarre and original vision quickly drew increasingly larger audiences.
He went on to produce radio programs for NPR Playhouse. And in 1985, he started working for KCRW, in Santa Monica California where he produced over 230 radio programs.
Over the course of his career, he was awarded a George Foster Peabody award, two Corporation for Public Broadcasting awards and an Emmy.blic Broadcasting Awards and an Emmy.
Frank died of sepsis, after several complications following surgery in Beverly Hills, California on January 15, 2018 at the age of 79.
