JOE FRANK
Joe Frank launched his radio career in 1976 at WBAI in New York City. On his Saturday night program, In the Dark, he explored live, free-form radio built around his monologues and actor improvisations. During this period Joe's strange and original vision steadily attracted larger and larger audiences. In 1978 he was brought on to co-anchor Weekend All Things Considered on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. Journalism soon lost its appeal, however, and Joe went back to producing radio shows for NPR Playhouse. Across the following three decades he created more than two hundred radio programs for KCRW in Santa Monica and for NPR. Over his career Joe earned many major industry honors, among them the George Foster Peabody Award and an Emmy. Through the years his singular approach to making radio encouraged producers nationwide to experiment and push the medium past its traditional limits. Joe also performed live to packed houses in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, and he created new shows for KCRW's radio series Unfictional. Sadly, Joe passed away in January, 2018.
D.P. CARLSON
D.P. Carlson serves as Producer, Director and Editor of JOE FRANK: SOMEWHERE OUT THERE. He first became a fan and follower of Joe Frank's radio shows while listening to WBEZ Chicago in 1988. Carlson is CEO of Film Foetus, Inc., an independent film company based in Chicago. His early independent work as a producer and director includes a feature documentary on the Chicago Blues scene and several short films with legendary WORD JAZZ artist Ken Nordine. In 1998 D.P. Carlson made the critically praised CHICAGO FILMMAKERS ON THE CHICAGO RIVER, and in 1999 he received the Panavision-sponsored Founders Award, given to the Most Promising Midwest Filmmaker. In 2001 the Gene Siskel Film Center presented a retrospective of his early work for the Starring Chicago film series. Since then he has made the rockumentary THE BEARS: OUT OF HIBERNATION, featuring world-renowned guitarist Adrian Belew, and PAUL STANLEY: LIVE TO DREAM. D.P. Carlson's films have screened on television, at film festivals and in art houses across the country.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is JOE FRANK: SOMEWHERE OUT THERE about?
It is a feature-length documentary exploring the life and career of award-winning audio artist Joe Frank, whose radio and online work spanned four decades. The film combines rare interviews with friends, actors, engineers and close associates with a wide selection of Joe's radio shows to reveal his art, his creative process and his personal life.
CONTACT US
This page gathers the story behind the documentary in one place: a look at Joe Frank's four decades in radio, a profile of producer, director and editor D.P. Carlson, answers to common questions about the film, and a direct way to get in touch. Explore the cast, press and screenings pages to follow the film further.