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Pioneering talk show host Joe Franklin died of prostate cancer January 24 at age 88. Four days earlier, he had missed a broadcast for the first time in more than 60 years. Born Joseph Fortgang in the Bronx, Franklin worked as a writer for Kate Smith's radio program and assisted Martin Block on WNEW's Make Believe Ballroom program. In 1950, Franklin began hosting a self-titled talk show on WJZ-TV (later WABC-TV). It moved to WWOR-TV in 1962 and continued until 1993. For many years Franklin hosted a Saturday-night big-band show on WOR. His celebrity interviews continued to air on Bloomberg Radio Network. Franklin claimed to have interviewed more than 300,000 people in his 43-year career. In the early 1980s on Saturday Night Live, BillyCrystaldidafewparodiesofFranklin, copying that rapid-fire delivery.