Joe Frank is a an American author, actor, screenwriter, and radio personality. He was a regular broadcaster on National Public Radio stations between 1977 and 2002, often performing experimental monologues, short stories, and interviews during the stations' late-night hours. His archived work continues to be broadcast on public and satellite radio.http://www.joefrank.com/joe_radio.php In addition to his radio work, Frank has published short stories, directed plays, and appeared in movies, TV shows, and video games.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0290990/

Frank has performed live on stage several times since his departure from radio. In March 2010, Frank performed his original production Just an Ordinary Man at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago with guitarist James Harrah.http://www.joefrank.com/joe_live.php

Joe Frank's radio debut was in 1977 at the WBAI Pacifica station in New York, where he became the host of a late-night program called In the Dark. Frank's work from this period, as well as later in his career, is described as highly experimental. In the Dark featured Frank's original stories, plays, monologues, and poems, as well as live music.http://wfmu.org/JF/ One reviewer summed up Frank's voice and the content of his show:

"Frank could easily be a hardboiled LA detective out of an old movie, though he is far more likely to be speaking about a relationship gone bad, his own self-hatred and fear of death, or an impossibly strange, grotesque and almost real dream, than a grisly murder or a jewel heist." — Ira S. Murfin for Chicago Art Criticismhttp://chicagoartcriticism.com/2010/03/25/theater-review-joe-frank-just-an-ordinary-man/

Frank moved to Washington, D.C. in 1978 to take a job as the co-anchor of NPR's All Things Considered. Between 1979 and 1985, he produced a series of plays for NPR Playhouse, winning several awards in the process. Frank moved to Santa Monica, California in 1986, where he became the host of a weekly radio program called Joe Frank: Work in Progress. Frank constantly tweaked and changed the content, and hosted the show until 2002, changing the name three times to In The Dark, Somewhere Out There, and The Other Side.http://www.joefrank.com/joe_radio.php Frank continues to write and produce original works, including plays and short stories. He also performs live on stage. His archived radio shows are broadcast on several stations around the United States.http://www.joefrank.com/joe_radio.php

1977: Radio debut, In the Dark on WBAI

1978: Becomes host of NPR's All Things Considered

1979-1985: Produces plays for NPR Playhouse

1986-2002: Produces Joe Frank: Work in Progress in Santa Monica, California

1993: Publishes The Queen of Puerto Rico and Other Stories

2004: Performs live in San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles

2010: Performs Just an Ordinary Man in Chicagohttp://wfmu.org/JF/ http://www.joefrank.com/joe_live.php http://www.joefrank.com/joe_live.php

"I came upon Joe Frank's work by accident a number of years ago while driving to my home in the Napa Valley late at night. I couldn't believe the originality and sheer brilliance of what I was hearing. From that moment on I became a dedicated Joe Frank fan. Joe Frank's shows raise the most interesting and enduring questions in new and original ways and are consistently thought-provoking and very funny. " — Francis Ford Coppola regarding radio personality Joe Frankhttp://www.joefrank.com/

"Each hour can contain a philosophical exploration, an intimate confession, an absurd comedy, a dark tragedy; all of which Frank takes to the farthest edge while bringing the listener along for the alternately emotional and/or enlightening ride." — Kevin Roderick in an article for LA Observed regarding radio personality Joe Frankhttp://www.laobserved.com/archive/2010/09/kcrw_brings_back_joe_fran.php