Gary Franklin
Encyclopedia
Gary Franklin was a well-known German American
broadcast
film critic based in Los Angeles, California
. Gary Franklin was born to a Jewish family in Leipzig, Germany on September 22, 1928. His family moved to the United States
in 1938 to escape persecution
by the Nazis
. Franklin earned a bachelor's degree
in film
at the City College of New York
. He worked as a cameraman for the U.S. Army
during the Korean War
. He began creating documentaries in New York
and Canada
following his return for the war.
Franklin began his broadcasting career in 1954 in Virginia
. He worked for several radio
and television station
s throughout the United States
before his career led him to Los Angeles
in 1972 where he became a roving night-side news reporter for all-news radio
station KFWB. While at KFWB, Franklin occasionally contributed film reviews and in 1981 he was hired by KNXT (now KCBS-TV
) as a full time film critic. Franklin's career as a film critic was most associated with KABC-TV
where he was employed from 1986 to 1991. While at KABC-TV, he used a 1-to-10 ratings
scale (10 being the best) calling it "The Franklin Scale" for his movie reviews.
Gary Franklin suffered four separate strokes in the final years of his life. He died on October 2, 2007 at his home in Chatsworth, California
at the age of 79.
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
film critic based in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Gary Franklin was born to a Jewish family in Leipzig, Germany on September 22, 1928. His family moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1938 to escape persecution
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
by the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Franklin earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
at the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
. He worked as a cameraman for the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He began creating documentaries in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
following his return for the war.
Franklin began his broadcasting career in 1954 in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He worked for several radio
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
and television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before his career led him to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1972 where he became a roving night-side news reporter for all-news radio
All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
station KFWB. While at KFWB, Franklin occasionally contributed film reviews and in 1981 he was hired by KNXT (now KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...
) as a full time film critic. Franklin's career as a film critic was most associated with KABC-TV
KABC-TV
KABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
where he was employed from 1986 to 1991. While at KABC-TV, he used a 1-to-10 ratings
Evaluation
Evaluation is systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards.Evaluation often is used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the arts, criminal justice,...
scale (10 being the best) calling it "The Franklin Scale" for his movie reviews.
Gary Franklin suffered four separate strokes in the final years of his life. He died on October 2, 2007 at his home in Chatsworth, California
Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California
Chatsworth is a district of Los Angeles, California, United States; in the northwestern San Fernando Valley. The district is bordered by the Santa Susana Mountains and unincorporated Los Angeles County lands to the north, Porter Ranch to the northeast, Northridge to the east, West Hills, Canoga...
at the age of 79.