American radio and television
personality Joe Franklin, who
has been entertaining New York
audiences for more than half a
century, will be the recipient
of The Theatre Museum’s Career
Achievement Award at its 2008
Awards Gala.
Recognizing individuals and/or
organizations that have made
significant contributions to the
life of the theatre, The Theatre
Museum will also honor Rick
McKay with its Award of
Excellence for Theatre History
Preservation to an Individual
and The Theatre Museum of
Repertoire Americana with
its Award of Excellence for
Theatre History Preservation to
an Organization. Five Towns
College will receive the Award
for Excellence in Theatre Arts
Education. The Awards will be
presented on October 21, 2008 at
New York’s The Players Club, 16
Gramercy Park South.
“The Theatre Museum is proud to
have the opportunity to
recognize a diverse array of
recipients this year,” says
museum president Helen Marie
Guditis. “Each, in a uniquely
different way, has made a
significant contribution to
theatre arts and the principles
and goals of our organization.”
Dubbed "the king of nostalgia,"
television pioneer Joe Franklin
debuted on WJZ-TV (later WABC-TV)
in 1951 with one of the medium’s
earliest talk shows. He moved
to WOR-TV (later WWOR-TV) in
1962 where he remained a
mainstay until 1999. It is
estimated that as host of “The
Joe Franklin Show,”
he interviewed over 10,000
guests during its 43-year TV
run. He can currently be heard
Saturday nights broadcasting on
WOR radio's "Memory Lane" (710AM
in NYC, 12 midnight) and also is
heard daily on Bloomberg Radio's
"Lifestyles" segment.
An acknowledged authority on
silent film and the owner of one
of the largest private sheet
music collections in the world,
Franklin has written 23 books,
including
Classics of the Silent Screen
and his 1995 autobiography
Up Late with Joe Franklin.
He has appeared as himself in
countless films, notably
“Ghostbusters” and “Broadway
Danny Rose.”
Producer/Director/Writer/Cinematographer
Rick McKay is the sole owner and
proprietor of Second Act
Productions. His hit film,
“Broadway: The Golden Age,” has
won over 15 film festival awards
and landed on 17 Top Ten film
lists. McKay, who has won three
Telly awards for his television
work, has produced episodes for
A&E’s “Biography” and produced,
directed and shot “Elaine
Stritch: At Liberty” for “Egg:
The Arts Show.” Much of this
footage was also used to make
the HBO documentary of the same
name, which won Stritch a 2004
Emmy. For five seasons McKay
was a segment producer on
WNET13’s “City Arts” and
recently helped to create the
opening segment of two Tony
Award broadcasts. McKay is
currently finishing his new film
“Fay Wray,” a half documentary
chronicling Wray’s legendary
career in film.
Started in 1969, Five Towns
College is a community of
artists and scholars who
specialize in music, media,
business, education, theatre,
film and the performing arts.
This unique place, defined by
the talented men and women who
form its constituency, boasts
nearly 40 undergraduate and
graduate programs, enrolling
approximately 1,200 students.
Founded by Dr. Stanley G. Cohen
and the late Mrs. Lorraine
Kleinman-Cohen in the
southwestern corner of Nassau
County, a geographic region
commonly known as the “Five
Towns,” the College was New
York’s first institution of
higher learning to establish
programs in both jazz/commercial
music and music business.
Although the College was
originally conceived as a
“business” college, music
quickly became its forté.
Officially opened in 1973, the
Museum of Repertoire Americana
is dedicated to preserving
memorabilia and artifacts of
early repertoire theatre. The
collection, featuring materials
dating from the 1880s through
the 1970s, includes numerous
painted curtains and scenic
pieces, playbills, show cards,
advertising sheets, heralds,
photographs, programs,
correspondence, tour schedules
and other original source
materials.
The Iowa-based Museum features a
research library containing
thousands of pieces of
memorabilia and the largest
collection of repertoire scripts
in the nation. The primary
focus is on the many traveling
companies that performed in
opera houses and tents, also
known as “under canvas” in the
United States. Additional
displays include items
encompassing vaudeville,
minstrel shows, medicine shows,
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” shows,
showboats and Chautauqua.
Founded in 2003, The Theatre
Museum is New York State's first
and only chartered, non-profit
museum dedicated to the history
of theatre. It is a
museum-at-large -- presenting
exhibitions in collaboration
with other cultural
institutions. The Museum's
programs include community
outreach, such as teaching
children how to write, direct
and stage live theatre, and the
annual Theatre Museum Awards for
Excellence Ceremony. Its
primary mission is to preserve,
protect and perpetuate the
legacy of theatre through
innovative programming.
For more information, please
contact:
Helen Marie Guditis (212)
464-4112 ext 205