Joe Franklin (born Joseph Fortgang on March 9, 1926) is an American radio and television host personality from New York City, best known for the television talk-and-variety show format that set the standard for television talk shows. His show began in 1951 on WJZ-TV (later WABC-TV) and moved to WOR-TV (later WWOR-TV) from 1962 to 1993. He interviewed over 100,000 guests during his 43 year career.