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About Joe

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Joe Frank was born in Strasbourg, France on August 19, 1938. After numerous setbacks following surgery in October 2017, Joe passed away on January 15, 2018. He is dearly missed.

Joe Frank · Meaning

An American radio icon, Joe is known best for his engaging, often philosophical, monologues and radio dramas. Joe’s radio programs are at times dark and frequently funny. Adding to the absurd atmosphere of his monologues and dramas are loops of percussive music over drones.

Joe Frank started his career at WBAI in New York, and later served as a co-anchor for the weekend edition of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. In 1986, he moved to Santa Monica, California, to work at KCRW, where he wrote, produced and performed in weekly hour-long radio programs in the series, “Joe Frank: Work In Progress.”

Joe continued to work at KCRW until 2002. His shows evolved as evidenced by the diverse series he produced, starting with Work in Progress, then In The Dark , followed by Somewhere Out There, and finally The Other Side.

While at KCRW, Joe received many honors, including a Peabody Award, the most coveted and distinguished award in radio and television broadcasting. He also received an Emmy Award for public television’s broadcast of “Joe Frank: Storyteller.” He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival. Joe is also a Guggenheim Fellow.

Joe Frank’s body of timeless work (over 230 hours) continues to be aired on many NPR stations in the United States.

Other:

Ira Glass and David Sedaris discuss Joe’s influence (Stream | Download)

Reviews of Joe’s Work

"A strange, different, wondrously offbeat, frequently hilarious, altogether brilliant piece of work..There's never been anything quite like it...Joe Frank is an audio Fellini."

The Los Angeles Times

"Radio's Prince of Darkness Rules the Freeways. [Frank is] alternately dark, bizarre and very funny - but always hard to turn off."

The Wall Street Journal

"To me, he's what radio is really for... his show makes me think he's getting to some great truth... so completely captivating and just unlike anything else."

David Sedaris, writer

"[Frank] travels in the emotional landscape of Bergman and Fellini; there's a tension and sense of mystery halfway between Kafka and Chandler... and a satiric edge worthy of Firesign Theatre and Woody Allen... No one else in radio is doing what Frank does."

The Washington Post

"Although commonly categorized as radio drama, Frank's work bears very little resemblance to the stagy artifice of plays performed over air. Frank wanders deeply into the unconscious, producing Dionysian stories with a fairy-tale intensity whose effect is often funny, disturbing and deeply memorable."

Salon

"Joe Frank is a singular voice in radio. What he has done is hypnotic, psychotic, neurotic, sad, terrifying, and some of the funniest stuff I have ever heard anywhere. I can't think of another radio performer who has come close to achieving this kind of alchemy."

Charlie Kaufman, filmmaker

"Frank has created a series of dead-pan radio monologues so sharp and intelligent that during the quiet bits you can almost hear God taking notes."

The UK Guardian

"Mixing bizarre monologues, multi-sequenced dramatic vignettes and mock-solemn critiques, [Joe Frank's work] is both sophisticated and surreal. A sizable cult has been growing around Frank...a rare radio talent."

The Village Voice

"In an arena in which formats are sacrosanct, Joe Frank has charted new territory with his literate, frequently bizarre, wildly funny essays and parodies... He can be funny, poignant, serious and off the wall - sometimes within the framework of the same piece. Unique is one word to describe it. Brilliant is another."

Los Angeles Times

"Frank [is] the apostle of radio noire... His free-form radio dramas... are sometimes moving, often funny, but always manage to confound the listeners' expectations. A maestro of verité, Frank exploits the power of radio..."

Rolling Stone