A couple of weeks
ago we had an interview with Elvis-collector (and soon the proud
owner of the first Elvis-shop in The Netherlands) Andylon Lensen.
On our regular question "Who should we interview next?"Andylon
answered "Joe Franklin, who hosted a TV-show in which Elvis
appeared in 1955." Together with us, not many people knew
this and we thought it was a good opportunity to find out more
about it. Andylon turned out to be a great contributor, by doing
most of the work for us. Quite some email traffic between Andylon,
Joe Franklin and us resulted in the following article.
Can you tell us
a little bit about yourself?
Well, where to start?
I was born March 9, 1926 in the Bronx, NY. Both of my parents
were born here in the U.S., the children of Austrian immigrants.
My father began as a newspaperman, but unable to make a decent
living in the business he went into the paper and twine business,
building a very successful company called the Second Avenue
Pushcart Mart in Manhattan, which is where we were living by
that time, in an area formerly called "Yorkville"
in the east 70s.
The interests that I had as a child are the same ones that I've
carried with me through the years. Radio. Collecting. Silent
movies. Vaudeville. And when the time came, of course, Television.
There was a neighborhood kind named Bernie Schwartz who would
come to my house and tell my mother we were leaving to play
basketball. Then we'd go to the movies. Every single day. Later,
Bernie changed his name to Tony Curtis, who you are probably
familiar with. We were best friends.
The collecting bug came from my father's side, he was a dedicated
stamp collector. Myself, though, I collected old movie programs
and souvenir books. The radio, though, was number one on my
list of priorities, from the time I was a very small child.
I'd listen avidly to shows like "Uncle Don" and "Dr.
IQ, the Mental Banker." The comedy shows were favorites,
fellows like Eddie Cantor (to whom I sold my first joke), Bob
Hope, and Jack Benny. Al Jolson was the King of them all.
Why - when - how
did you get interested in the radio - television business?
I think we have "Why"
covered. When? Well, in 1943 I sold my first material to the
"Eddie Cantor Show." That was my first big break.
I actually hosted my first radio show in the U.S. Army while
stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey in '44. The same year I was
discharged from the service and did a program called "Vaudeville
Echoes" on WHOM Radio. After that came some assistant positions
on shows like "Kate Smith Sings" and "Kate Smith
Speaks", as well as "The Paul Whiteman Club"
and "Make-Believe Ballroom" with Martin Block. Walter
Winchell coined the term "disk jockey", referring
to Martin Block.
When did you start
for television at ABC in New York?
Actually, my first
television show began earlier than my years with ABC, in January
of 1951 on WJZ-TV (NY Channel 7), Monday thru Friday from noon
until 12:30. It was called, originally, "Joe Franklin -
Disk Jockey." In May of 1952, "Spotlight to Stardom"
aired, also on WJZ-TV and the show's motto was that it "Gives
new faces in show business a chance to exhibit their wares before
the TV cameras." Then, in October 6, 1953, "Joe Franklin's
Memory Lane" debuted on WABC-TV at one in the afternoon.
I was on the air continuously, never missing a day, from 1953
until my retirement from television in 1993.
Elvis must have
been a guest late 1955, that's when Tom Parker (Elvis Manager)
just contracted Elvis to be his personal manager?
Yes, that is correct.
Although the exact date of Elvis's appearance on my show has
been lost to "the mists of antiquity" due to, unfortunately,
poor record keeping and a lack of a kinescope machine at the
w. 66th Street studio, it was shortly after August of '55, which
is when Elvis had hired Tom Parker as his manager. It was almost
certainly during the holiday season, as it was only a short
time later that Elvis was booked to play on State Show on the
Dumont Network. It's unfortunate that the records of appearances
were not preserved, but between '53 and '93 I hosted over 300,000
guests! Some, like Jayne Mansfield, appeared some 20 times as
opposed to Elvis's single appearance, yet it is nearly impossible
so many years later to track down the exact dates. Admittedly,
we were a small show. We were not the Ed Sullivan Show. We did,
however, attract all of the big stars that Sullivan got, and
sometimes even better ones.
Did you invite
Elvis? Or was it Tom Parker who contacted you (or ABC)?
I didn't personally
invite Elvis to do the show, rather I had a production staff
that handled the individual bookings. At the time, neither I
nor they would have been familiar with Elvis or what little
music he had recorded. The show had been contacted by Tom Parker's
office and they said that they had young talent who they wanted
to get some exposure for. I'm sure that they sent us some audio
tape of Elvis, because we didn't just put on performers without
at least previewing what they had to offer, but I don't believe
that I ever personally reviewed his music. That would have been
left up to the booking department, and they rarely let me down.
I can't say "never", but rarely.
Did you knew at
that time who Elvis was?
I have to admit that
I did not. But then, not many people did. Elvis was not "ELVIS"
at the time he performed on my show. Not by any stretch. I know
this may be difficult for some fans to believe, but Elvis was
virtually unknown outside of the American south, outside of
the Southern states where he had achieved some popularity. But
in New York, or even the rest of the United States, he was definitely
not the household name he would later become. Not to belittle
him at all because all future stars start out in bleak anonymity,
Elvis was just one of hundreds of guests I would have on the
show over the course of every single month. On my show, you
would find the biggest names sitting right alongside people
that no one had ever heard of. it was a true "variety"
show. Ann Margaret was on the show with Elvis and so was Jimmy
Rogers. These were two tremendously talented people. But at
this point in time time, Elvis fit right into the category of
"People No One had Ever Heard Of." He would change
all of that not long after.
What was you first
impression when you met Elvis?
Elvis was very, very
shy and, I thought, quite nervous. He called everyone "Sir"
and "Ma'am." He hadn't had very much public exposure,
I realize now, and so it was not unexpected. I would see this
in many other guests who made their first appearances on my
show, who would then go on to achieve major stardom. People
like Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand,
to mention a few.
Was Elvis accompanied
by Tom Parker?
Yes, Colonel Parker
was with Elvis, and paid a tremendous amount of attention to
him. A doting sort of attention, not paternal but definitely
going on, very intently, but most particularly he watched Elvis.
I wonder if he had any idea at that time just how Elvis would
become in less than a year's time. I suspect that he did.
Did Scotty Moore
and Bill Black play along with Elvis on the show?
No, there were no
other musicians accompanying Elvis when he visited my show.
He came solo other than Tom Parker, and he left the same way.
Very quickly, as well. As soon as his "set" was finished
he was basically out the door, and this I attributed to his
nervousness (Elvis was in such a hurry he forgot his guitar
and music-sheets, that's how I came in the possession of it).
He hadn't acquired any expertise in the art of small talk. That
was something else about Elvis that would change over the
years.
Can you recall
any reviews - in newspapers or magazines?
Reviews I do not recall
at all and would doubt that anyone had been troubled to write
one. This may sound harsh to the ears of Elvis fans, but again,
you must bear in mind that Presley was virtually unknown outside
of the Southern states. He appeared with Ann-Margaret Olsen
and Jimmy Rogers (both of whom were well known, far, far better
known than Elvis) and it was not until the next year that he
really became "ELVIS PRESLEY", via his appearances
on nationally broadcast shows such as Ed Sullivan. Because this
was his very first television booking, no one really knew who
he was! Neither did I. There was not a great deal to get excited
about at the time because he was just one of a couple hundred
guests that I would have on every month. Elvis had yet to sign
a big recording contract and Col. Parker had just been hired
not long before the appearance. It was one of the first bookings
that he made on Elvis's behalf. It really wasn't until 1956
that Elvis really exploded and became "ELVIS PRESLEY."
Again, this may strike Elvis fans as abrasive, but no one -
and I mean no-one - comes out of the womb and into the spotlight.
Yes, even Elvis Presley was anonymous early in his career.
Do you have a favourite
film-record by Elvis?
My favorite single
was "Are you Lonesome Tonight?" and I think my favorite
film was "Speedway." But I liked them all, truly,
and greatly admired Elvis's tremendous talent.
Was Elvis ever
invited to your television program later on? And if not, why?
Yes, we definitely
invited Elvis back. Unfortunately, it was never possible to
book him again. After the Ed Sullivan spot, he was getting so
much money per appearance that it made it impossible for us.
We never paid for interviews or performers on our show, we were
a small show. Small budget. and if we did occasionally pay someone
it was a very nominal sum, a token sum. We would have loved
to have Elvis , but it just never happened.
Why is it not known
that you were the first who had Elvis broadcasted for television?
Elvis fans only know
about Tommy Dorsey, Steve Allen, Ed Sullivan and Milton Berle
shows. Elvis's appearance on the Joe Franklin Memory Lane show
in late '55 was his first appearance on network television,
ABC-TV. Elvis appeared on a very very very small broadcast called
the Louisiana Hayride earlier, but this was extremely regional
and not seen by many people. While not a national show like
Ed Sullivan's, my show was broadcast through several States
by a major network and therefore qualifies. We never made any
bones about the fact that we were a small show with a pitifully
low budget, and admittedly not many on the other side of the
Delaware water gap would have had the opportunity to see the
show. The show did, however, attract celebrities every bit the
caliber of the larger network productions. Elvis, at the time
of his appearance, was not one of these "names", rather
he was virtually unknown outside of the Southern States where
he had achieved some regional popularity. At this late date
it is probably not possible to revise the erroneous chronology
made by authors who either ignored the smallish Joe Franklin
Memory Lane in favor of mentioning Stage Show on the Dumont
Network or, naturally, the Ed Sullivan show, but nonetheless
it was not until after Presley appeared on Memory Lane that
he was picked up for the Dorsey Brothers show. This omission
is due in large part to the fact that ABC's Studios on W. 66th
Street refused to spend the money to purchase a kinescope machine.
At that time the kinescopes were out of the budgetary reach
of 99% of the networks. ABC wouldn't spend the $45,000 that
it cost to purchase the technology, much to my chagrin. Therefore,
there is no recording of Elvis's appearance (which, mind you,
was not a lighting and thunder spectacle the likes of which
he would later make routine, but rather a single song, a rendition
of a Southern folk tune, "Shortnin' Bread") and in
this day and age where absolutely everything is so easy to record
and file away, this fact unfortunately makes it easy for biographers
to sidestep the Memory Lane appearance. Of course, because of
the lack of the kinescope machine, I myself didn't even have
the opportunity to see my OWN show until the mid 1960s, after
over 10 years of broadcasts! All the shows were on live television.
Furthermore, I never really saw any point in boasting about
the Elvis appearance in '55 or making fruitless gestures to
change what is accepted by the general public due to the many
biographies that have omitted mention of my show as Elvis's
first major TV venue. It just wasn't my style, I suppose, to
insist. I have to disagree with you when you say that most Elvis
fans are familiar with EP's appearances on Berle, Dorsey, Allen
etc. In fact, most people are NOT aware that Elvis appeared
on Berle, Dorsey or Allen BEFORE Sullivan, yet this is exactly
the case. It was certainly a long time ago and in the entertainment
world it's common that facts and figures about a performer's
early career (not just Presley's) can become clouded by the
passage of time.
You also had James
Dean and Marilyn Monroe on your show, when was this and were
they also unknown at that time?
Marilyn was well known
at the time. She had at the time walked out on her 20th Century
Fox contract. This was around 1953. We became close friends,
we wrote a book together, and she had come to NY to study "serious
acting", as she said. James Dean was in off-Broadway at
the time of his appearance, he was appearing in "See The
Jaguar", if memory serves. This was somewhere around 1951.
He was basically unknown at the time. He was a very pleasant
young man. He told me his favorite actor at that time was James
Cagney.
Were there any
celebrities you became close friends with?
Julia Roberts (she
was my secretary for 6 months), Jayne Mansfield, Tony Curtis,
Tony Bennett, Bill Cosby and Kathryn Grant Crosby, Madonna (she
was a backup singer on my show, backing up Barry Manilow), Paul
Simon, Barbra Streisand.
Did you keep in
touch with Elvis after your show in 1955?
Elvis sent me a letter
when he was in the service, but that was about it. He sent me
a lock of his hair from his GI haircut. Col. Parker invited
me to a few concerts, but I never went. I was always too busy
with the show. Now I wish that I had had the time to go. It
must have been an amazing sight, Elvis in concert.
Is there something
you would like to say to Elvisfans worldwide?
I've got a slogan:
next to our American flag, Elvis is also our symbol in our country.
So I'll say to all the Elvis fans in the world : "ELVIS
U.S.A.!"
What are you doing
nowadays?
I am still working
for radio and television. Next to that I have my own big restaurant
in New York, and inside the restaurant , I have a Hall of Fame,
where you can see all the memorabilia of the celebrities in
my shows, that I gathered through all the years. If you are
ever visit New York...., don't hesitate to visit me, all Elvisfans
are welcome....
