Jersey City, New Jersey -National talent and recent controversial joke maker Gilbert Gottfried  headlines  Thursday, April 14^th, 2011 at Michael Anthony’s dazzling Waterfront Restaurant in Jersey City, New Jersey.  Host John “Nutsy” Fagan, another Jersey City Resident, will be on hand to warm up the evening.

After spending several years mastering the art of stand-up comedy, producers of the legendary NBC late night comedy show Saturday Night Live became aware of Gottfried and, in 1980, hired him as a cast member. It wasn’t until a few years later when his true notoriety would begin when MTV hired him for a series of improvised and hilarious promos for the newly formed channel. This led to several television appearances on “The Cosby Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman.”

Gottfried’s many credits include “Beverly Hills Cop II”. Other film credits include “Look Who’s Talking II” and “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.” He was also the host of the very popular late night movie series “USA Up All Night,” “Aladdin.” Gottfried is the voice of DIGIT in Cyberchase.” He is a regular on the new “Hollywood Squares”, “The Tonight Show ” and “The Howard Stern Show.” Gottfried recently appeared in the documentary “The Aristocrats,” with Entertainment Weekly quoting “out of the 101 comedians who appear on screen, no one is funnier – or more disgusting – than Gilbert Gottfried.”

“Gilbert Gottfried Dirty Jokes” was recently released on both DVD and CD, featuring 50 non-stop minutes of Gottfried telling the funniest and filthiest jokes ever. At the end of the show, Gottfried tells what is known among comedians as the “Dirtiest Joke of All Time,” which is also the basis for “The Aristocrats.”

Michael Anthony’s offers a central location between Jersey City, Hoboken and New York City, is completely accessible by car, PATH or LightRail, and has the breathtaking New York City Skyline as a backdrop for all performances.  The menu is casual Italian cuisine, and the chic atmosphere is perfect for a night out for friends or couples.

Lifelong Jersey City resident and Producer of the show, Suzy Yengo, is the President and Partner
of Catch a Rising Star Comedy Clubs and Productions.  She  said: “we are thrilled to bring comedy to Jersey City.  Our goal is to keep travelers and residents in downtown Jersey City instead of losing them to New York City.  After traveling around the country for a few years managing our other clubs, I had my eye on placing a club in Jersey City in my own backyard.  A beautiful location with parking and the most beautiful view of the New York Skyline !”, quoted Yengo.

The Show is at Michael Anthony’s on the Jersey City Waterfront,  located at 502 Washington Boulevard, Jersey City – across from the Westin Hotel.  Doors 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm. Free parking is available on location. For inquiries, catchmichaelanthonys@catcharisingstar.com .Ages 16 and older admitted.  Advanced reservations are required. Phone 609-987-8018 or buy tickets online at catcharisingstar.com.  Press information:  suzyroseesq@aol.com or 201-433-6705. Press passes available.

Catch a Rising Star – the Original New York Comedy Club that launched the careers of Jerry Seinfeld, Dane Cook, Chris Rock and many others – has been providing Comedy of Legendary Proportions since 1972. www.catcharisingstar.com.

The post GILBERT GOTTFRIED IN JERSEY CITY APRIL 14TH first appeared on River View Observer.

Before Jack Paar Johnny Carson, Jay Leno , Jimmy Kimmel  Conan  O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon there is Joe Franklin.

Joe Franklin —America‘s First Talk Show Host!

by Sally Deering

To his fans he’s the “King of Nostalgia,” but to thousands of show folk, Joe Franklin is a friend who gives stars a place to shine and unknowns the chance to stand out from the crowd.  In his 50-year career, Franklin has made it his mission to help the struggling artist get a foot in the door, and with a look-back, it seems this spunky octogenarian not only accomplished his goal, he picked up a little stardust of his own along the way.

In 1951 TV was a toddler still learning and discovering its capabilities. Many of the TV studios were in New York – on the fringes of the Theater District broadcasting game shows, kiddie shows, dramas and comedies live and in black-and-white. That year, station WJZ (which later became ABC,) approached Franklin about doing a TV talk show.Things clicked and “The Joe Franklin Show” premiered with Franklin as host engaging celebrity guests in the art of conversation.

Franklin has sat behind the mic for some 300,000 interviews with the Who’s Who of Hollywood — Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and practically every superstar in between. But it wasn’t just the big names that interested Franklin. New York City was his hometown and Franklin knew first-hand how young actors, singers and comics were struggling for their first break. So between the glamorous glitterati, Franklin interviewed unknown up-and-comers. Some never went any further than Franklin’s show, but others like comic Bill Cosby, singers Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand and actress Julia Roberts saw their careers take off and became superstars.

 At 83, the dapper “boy from ‘da Bronx” is still going strong. His radio show “Memory Lane,” broadcasts Saturday nights at midnight on WOR, 710-AM and he hosts weekly interviews with celebrities for Bloomberg Radio’s “Lifestyles.”

An authority on the world of show business from the days of silent films, Franklin has written 23 books on the stars and how some of them played a role in his life. He interviewed so many stand-up comics, he wrote a book about them, too. Carving out his niche as talk show host cum celebrity, Franklin even played himself in films like “Ghostbusters” and “Broadway Danny Rose.” And now, the accolades are rolling in. The Theater Museum honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a dinner held at the Players Club, last October, and he was honored by the Museum of Broadcasting for his contribution to television. And to many New Yorkers, he’s still the man to see when you’re trying to break into the biz.

The Open Door Policy

Franklin’s office is in a busy theatrical building that shadows the Theatre District west of Broadway, a building where the business of show is conducted on a daily basis. Walk through the halls and you’re likely to see audition postings on office doors and the halls filling up with dancers, singers and actors waiting to be called in to perform a monologue or sing 8-bars for the director or casting agent. It’s a building like so many others in Manhattan and before you even get to Franklin’s office, you feel that show biz electricity in the air. When you reach his door, it’s slightly ajar as if to say “Come in, have a seat and we’ll talk!”

Stepping inside Franklin’s office is like entering a catacomb of memorabilia crowded with piles of books, celebrity photographs, magazines and papers. Shelves line most of the walls with record albums from Franklin’s days as a DJ spinning “33s” for New York’s insomniacs, lonely-hearts and night-shifters who tuned in to his radio program back in the day. Franklin still keeps warehouses filled with memorabilia he has collected throughout his years, with enough nostalgic ephemera to fill several museums.

At the far side of the room, Franklin holds court at a small desk – his two phones ringing constantly with press agents and publicists looking to book their clients on his radio show.  He doesn’t have a computer or a talent coordinator and does all the bookings himself.

“I never solicited a guest,” Franklin says between calls, “never called one guest to appear on my show. They all came to me.”

Among his favorites, he says, were five U.S. Presidents, Cary Grant and Charlie Chaplin. He had Frank Sinatra on four times.

“He was charming,” Franklin says. “He spoke what he spoke, ‘dese, dems and doughs,’ but when he sang, he was like a different person.”

And the stars keep coming. This week, for his Bloomberg Radio show, Franklin booked Lily Tomlin, Andy Williams, Dick Van Patten and his best friend from childhood, Tony Curtis, who’s plugging a new book.  When interviewing celebs, Franklin says, “get the plug out of the way fast. They’re always nervous about what they gotta plug, once that’s done, they can relax.”

It’s a late Thursday afternoon and Franklin’s friend, 56 year-old aspiring actor Frank DiGiovanni has been visiting and helps answer phones and greet visitors.  When they walk through the open door, some Franklin knows and some he doesn’t, but whether they’re stopping in to say hello or plug their act – Franklin greets each one with a smile and a handshake.

“DJ Patty” and “DJ Anthony” a mother and son mobile disc jockey act from Long Island are visiting Franklin with the hope he might help them break into the Manhattan scene. DJ Patty, a vivacious blonde, shows Franklin a picture of herself with Robert DeNiro from the time she DJ’d a party for the “Casino” cast. Franklin seems genuinely interested and invites her to sit and schmooze.

“He’s a legend,” DJ Patty gushes. “I watched his show all the time.”

And while DJ Patty puts on the charm, Franklin’s old buddy Remo Capra strolls through the door. Capra talked about the time he sang with the Tommy Dorsey band in 1956 and recorded an album with Frank DeVol at Columbia records.

“I used to go on Joe’s show all the time,” Capra says. “Those were good times.”

And then Tommy “G” from Bayonne bursts through the door with some buddies.

“I met Joe through my cousin, they were very good friends,” Tommy “G” says after shaking hands with Franklin and exchanging hellos. “I call him on the phone and stop by and say hi whenever I’m in the neighborhood.”

So do a lot of people.

“This is typical,” DiGiovanni says.. “They come to talk with Joe or to network.”

A New York Landmark

Joe Franklin is a New York original who shooed away offers to leave the urban landscape for the glitz and glam of Hollywood. He’s a “Regular Joe” who still gets a kick out of being recognized on the street and hearing cab drivers tell him they learned English from watching his show.

“I was told I should relocate to the West Coast, but I didn’t want to drop the New York Beat,” Franklin says.

He’s a New York landmark, a TV pioneer who has given thousands of people their shot – and he’s not done yet. As the phones keep ringing, Franklin sits in his chair booking guests and sharing anecdotes with the people chatting away in his office. This is his world – schmoozing with big names and meeting new faces and Franklin, looking delighted at all the activity, stops for a moment and asks, “Anyone want coffee?”

His guests say “Yes,” coffee orders are taken and everyone settles in for a schmooze-fest;  just another typical day in the life of “America’s First Talk Show Host.”

The post Joe Franklin- Amercia’s First Talk Show Host “Memory Lane” January 22nd, 1983 first appeared on River View Observer.