Joe Franklin with Telly Savalas and Gilbert Gottfried

Talk show host Joe Franklin sat down with various celebrities to do new interviews for his 40th Anniversary Special, which aired on WOR-TV in New York on July 17, 1989. His interview with actor Telly Savalas (TV's Kojak) came about quite by chance since he just ran into him at a hotel. They'd worked together at a radio station in New York 40 years earlier and Savalas mentions that Howard Cosell worked with them also. Savalas also describes how "Kojak" benefited from a New York cast that went out to Hollywood to make it. This is followed by brief well-wishing bits from Chuck McCann and Stella Stevens and then a brief sitdown with comic Gilbert Gottfried who continues in another segment also on this channel (Joe Franklin and Gilbert Gottfried).

[@michaelklein5242]

"Kojak" was the most believable show on TV. "The Joe Franklin Show" was the most unbelievable. 😁 Actually, I grew up watching Joe (what an 8-year old was doing up at 4 am is still a mystery) and got a kick out of him. I was introduced to a lot of interesting "peripheral" people thanks to Joe. I always liked Telly--he was a TV network executive before he got into acting. Thanks for bringing this to us!

[@dm41390]

"tell us Telly" .... LoL

[@davidswift7776]

Telly and Joe.. priceless 👍

[@vestibulate]

Joe- sell some paint. What are we doing here? Sell the paint!

[@VahanNisanian]

Gilbert looks as he did in Ford Fairlane ane Problem Child 1 (both filmed in 1989, released in 1990).

[@andrewflower5599]

Rip Telly... Kochamy Cie.. GBY...

[@jackgrattan3144]

Joe was on Gilbert's podcast not too long ago. They talked about his scary office.

[@michaelklein5242]

There actually was a Ritz Brothers movie with a gorilla imaginatively titled "The Gorilla" with Bela Lugosi. I really miss Gilbert!

[@andrewflower5599]

ZZB Telly... Kochamy Cie.... GBY

[@deanmartin6682]

i wish it was July 17, 1989

[@deacondavis5098]

Telly Savalas also did the best Ernst Stavro Blofeld in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”