Joe Franklin was a New York City institution.
That's about the best way you can describe Franklin, who passed away over the weekend at 88. Franklin, whose talk show aired mostly on WOR up until its end in 1993, had claimed to have conducted more than 4,000 interviews with celebrities, politicians, athletes, and regular folks. He also claims to have invented the talk show format, though that might be disputed.
Franklin was such an icon in New York that Billy Crystal, when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in the 80's, would do skits impersonating Franklin on the show, raising Franklin's profile even higher.
Following is a sample clip of The Joe Franklin Show:
Let's see if Jimmy Fallon and/or David Letterman salute Franklin on their shows later tonight. Rest in peace, Joe.
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