Joe Frank ( Joseph Langermann; August 19, 1938 – January 15, 2018) was a French-born American writer, teacher, and radio performer best known for his often philosophical, humorous, surrealist, and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas he recorded often in collaboration with friends, actors, and family members.

Early life

Frank was born Joseph Langermann in Strasbourg, France, near the border of Germany, to Meier Langermann (then aged 51, a Polish-born shoe manufacturer) and Friederike "Fritzi" Langermann ( Passweg), then aged 26. Frank was born months before the family fled from Nazi Germany's persecution of Jewish people in their native Poland. 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 (identified as 'Meyer Langerman' in New York City's death records) died of kidney failure on October 8, 1943, when Joe was five years old. On April 28, 1945, his mother married Theodore Frank (whom Joe called Freddy in his show, and in the article 'Joe Frank is off the air' in the 'LA Weekly' in 1997) and changed Joe's last name. In his twenties, Frank studied at Hofstra University in New York and later at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. In 1964, he taught five grades of English at the Sands Point Academy for Gifted Children in Sands Point, New York. Among his students were Gary Lambert, host on Sirius/XM Radio's The Grateful Dead Channel, and novelist/screenwriter Howard A. Rodman. From 1965 to 1975, he taught English and Russian literature and philosophy at the Dalton School in Manhattan and later, while working as a music promoter (1976-77), became interested in the power of radio.

NPR, 1978-1984

In 1977, Frank began 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. The following year, 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, which lasted two weeks. At the end of each segment, he was given five minutes to create and narrate his creative fictional essays. During 1978–84, Frank performed in and produced 18 dramas for NPR Playhouse, winning several awards.

KCRW, 1986–2018

In 1986, at the invitation of Ruth Hirschman Seymour, the general manager of NPR's Santa Monica, California, affiliate KCRW, Frank moved to Santa Monica, California, where he wrote, produced, and performed in his own weekly hour-long radio program, Joe Frank: Work In Progress. 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". Beginning in 2004, Frank began creating full-length shows for subscribers to his web site. In 2012, Frank started producing periodic half-hour shows for KCRW's "UnFictional" series. He continued to produce all-new shows for the series until months before his death.

Other activities and personal life

Starting in 2003, Frank performed on stage with original material at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California, 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 WNYC New York, and many NPR stations including the radio station at the University of California at Davis (KDVS), Savannah, Georgia (WRUU), Cabool, Missouri (KZGM), Carson City, Nevada (KNVC), Cape May, New Jersey (WCFA), and others with new stations being added. In early 2005, Frank suffered complete kidney failure. He received a second cousin's kidney in 2006, which continued to function normally (with the help of multiple immunosuppressant drugs) until his death. In 2012, Frank returned to KCRW for episodes of the station's "UnFictional" program. In May 2014, Frank had surgery to treat colon cancer, which was successful. In December 2015, Frank was hospitalized due to a gastrointestinal perforation following a routine medical procedure. This led to heart and kidney issues and Frank's complete recovery took a full year. His colon cancer returned in July 2017; he had surgery in October 2017 to excise a tumor in his colon. He died on January 15, 2018, after multiple reversals following the surgery, from sepsis.

Radio program style

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." The repetitive cadence of the music, drones 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 Frank. Kornfield explained that, although he had never met or talked to 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

Documentary film

A feature-length film, Joe Frank: Somewhere Out There, about Frank's life and work, was released in 2018. The film was completed prior to Frank's death and includes interviews with collaborators and other personalities.

Influence and legacy

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

Voice-over and acting work

Joe Frank performed voice-overs for commercials including Zima, the Saturn Corporation and Jiffy Lube. He was the voice of the computer in Galaxy Quest and provided voiceovers for: He also had a small acting role in The Game.

Awards

During NPR Playhouse

Source:

During Work In Progress

Tributes

After his death, there was an outpouring among radio producers especially: