Frank Murphy (radio)

Radio Host Frank Murphy with award winning WATE Reporter/Anchor Lori Tucker at Rossini Festival
Frank Murphy posing for a photo with Hana Kim
Frank Murphy at the 2012 Dancing With the Knoxville Stars Competition. With him is multi-award winning reporter Hana Kim-Kennedy. A classmate of his in the FBI Citizens Academy

Frank Murphy is known as a radio personality at WNOX and WWST (Star 102.1) in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was formerly a producer for high-profile morning shows in Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA.

In addition to his radio experience, Frank is a member of Knoxville's long-running improvisational theatre company, Einstein Simplified.[1]

Frank was named Best Local Blogger in the 2012 Metro Pulse readers survey. He was also voted East Tennessee's Best Local Blogger in 2008 [2] and was voted first runner up in 2007,[3] 2009 and 2010 by readers of the Knoxville News Sentinel. In 2014, he was the Social Media inductee in the Friends of Literacy East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame. Murphy was the 2014 Knoxville recipient of the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award.

Radio experience - producer

Early career

Murphy began his radio career in 1982 at the campus radio station of George Mason University, WGMU. That summer he worked the midday shift at WVBK-AM in Herndon, Virginia, without being paid. At the start of 1983, he was named station manager of WGMU, just as it was transitioning from a closed circuit broadcast available only in the Rathskeller to a carrier current transmission which could be heard in the dorms and student apartments on any AM radio.

A WGMU air band contest caught the attention of Denise Benoit, the promotion director of WAVA-FM. She contacted Murphy and hired him as her intern for the summer of 1984. At the end of his internship, Murphy was hired by the station as its assistant promotion director, a position he held until 1986. During 1985 Murphy was heard on the air reading snow closing announcements in the morning or doing an occasional weekend air shift. He was most often heard as part of Don Geronimo's afternoon drive program, especially when the show would broadcast from local bars on Friday afternoons.

The Don and Mike Show, WAVA

In November 1986, Murphy replaced John Nolan as morning show producer for the Don and Mike Show. In this position, he regularly made appearances on the show, often when something went wrong and hosts Don and Mike were heard to yell out "Fraaaank". Frequent guest Bobcat Goldthwait would jokingly refer to him as "the omnipresent Frank." He continued in that job until Don & Mike left WAVA in 1991 upon the announcement of the station's sale to Salem Communications.

Murphy served as morning host until the sale became final. During that time, Murphy won the Best New Talent in the Market award at the March of Dimes Achievement In Radio Awards. When the sale's closing was delayed, Murphy partnered with afternoon host Joe Friday and traffic reporter Janet from Another Planet to create a new morning show for the station's last few months.

WAVA changed format on February 12, 1992.

The Jay Thomas Show, KPWR

Five days after WAVA changed formats, Murphy began a new job as morning show producer for Jay Thomas at KPWR (Power 106) in Los Angeles. While there, Murphy appeared as an extra in the movie "It's Pat" and as a featured extra on Jay Thomas' sitcom, "Love & War." Thomas left the radio station in 1993.

The Kevin & Bean Show, KROQ

A few months later Murphy departed KPWR for a job as morning show producer for Kevin and Bean at KROQ. He worked alongside Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla and often participated in on air segments. Kevin & Bean once challenged Murphy to sell over 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies for his daughter.

Underground singer-songwriter Wesley Willis visited KROQ several times. He wrote and performed on-air a song titled "Frank Murphy." The lyrics included the lines: "You are a working-class dog. You are a producer for the Kevin & Bean Show. You work hard at 106.7 KROQ. You are a working-class man."[4]

The Mark & Brian Show, KLOS

In 1996, Murphy was hired as executive producer of the syndicated Mark and Brian show based at KLOS. Mark & Brian would refer to him as "Mr. Owl" due to his love of trivial information. He participated in the annual "Football Bet," always choosing to support the Washington Redskins. His unusual punishments included cleaning a public restroom, collecting semen from a bull and picking the nose of a stranger. He was also known for writing the difficult trivia questions for the "You Can't Win" game.

Radio experience - on air

Morning Show, KLYY

In February 1999, Murphy reported for jury duty at the L.A. County Criminal Courts Building. During his two weeks of service, he was accepted a job as co-host of the morning show on KLYY (Y-107).[5] By the end of the year, the station had switched to a Spanish language format and all the on air personalities had been fired.

FM in the AM, Comedy World Radio Network

Murphy was unemployed until being contacted in early 2000 by radio host Brian Whitman about a new Internet company called Comedy World. Murphy joined the new company as both producer of a talk show co-hosted by comedian Allan Havey and actress Susan Olsen and as host of his own weekend talk show called FM in the AM. By 2001, the company had become known as the Comedy World Radio Network and had added terrestrial radio affiliates in Syracuse, Atlantic City, Spokane, Reno and Savannah/Charleston. In April of that year the company filed bankruptcy, leaving Murphy and his co-workers unemployed.

Phil & Murphy in the Morning, WOKI

Murphy did a number of odd jobs around Hollywood until being hired as co-host of a morning show in Knoxville, Tennessee. In April 2002, the Phil & Murphy in the Morning show debuted on 100.3 The River (WOKI). Murphy worked with longtime Knoxville personalities Phil Williams and newsman David Henley. In July 2003, the entire staff was dismissed when ownership of The River transferred from Dick Broadcasting to Citadel Communications.

Ashley & Murphy in the Morning, WRMX/WTXM

Murphy soon landed a job working with Ashley Adams at Oldies 95.7 & 106.7 (WRMX & WTXM). The morning show was renamed Ashley & Murphy in the Morning. Murphy was let go in early 2005, shortly before the station adopted the satellite-delivered Jack FM format.

Marc & Kim and Frank Show, WWST

In April 2005, Murphy joined Marc Anthony and Kim Hansard for the Marc & Kim and Frank show at Star 102.1 (WWST). It was renamed the Marc & Kim Show in June 2013 when Frank left the show to concentrate on his duties at sister station WNOX.[6] Murphy is also heard on weekends as one of two rotating hosts of the Journal Broadcast Group cluster's public affairs program and as host of a Star 102.1 music show.

Frank was often heard on-air talking about weight-loss, death, funerals, the Body Farm, swimming, the Washington Redskins, or his love of marshmallow candies.[7]

Afternoon Show, WNOX

On November 4, 2013, Murphy began hosting the afternoon drive show on Classic Hits 93.1 WNOX. He also serves as the station's assistant program director.

Improv career

Murphy took an improv class in 2000 from the City of Burbank Department of Parks & Recreation. The class was titled "Improv for Ages 13 and Up" and was taught by Steve Saracino.

In June 2002, Murphy joined the comedy improv group Einstein Simplified. They perform short-form improv every Tuesday night at Scruffy City Hall on Market Square in downtown Knoxville. In addition to their weekly show, the members of Einstein Simplified perform at private parties and corporate functions. For three years they performed at the First Night Knoxville celebration on New Year's Eve.

The group was cast in the partially improvised horror film "Fish Bait" in 2008. Filming took place in early October on Norris Lake. Murphy plays a character named "Frank" who books a fishing trip with three buddies when things go awry.

Blogging

Murphy started writing a blog on his website on August 1, 2005. He often writes about the Body Farm, radio, TV, food, Catholicism and improv.

He was voted Favorite Local Blogger in the 2008 Knoxville News Sentinel "East Tennessee's Best" readers poll. He was first runner up in the same poll in 2007, 2009 and 2010. He was voted Best Local Blogger in Metro Pulse's Best of Knoxville 2012 survey.

Murphy was the 2014 Social Media inductee in the Friends of Literacy East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame.

More recently, Murphy posts to the microblogging social media site Twitter. His Twitter name is @FrankMurphyCom.

Community Involvement

In 2012, Murphy was elected to a two-year term as president of the FBI Knoxville Citizens Academy Alumni Association, a private, non-profit organization that is not part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His term expired in January, 2014. He participated in the FBI Citizens Academy in 2009.

Also in 2012, Murphy was appointed to the Knoxville Community Advisory Council of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. He has served as honorary chairman of their Kids Helping Kids Fun Walk to benefit Columbus Home since 2010. In 2012 and 2013, he chose Columbus Home as his charity of choice when competing in the Host with the Most Contest at Side Splitters Comedy Club. He took the first place prize both years.

In 2014, Murphy was elected to an at-large seat on the board of the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists for a two-year term which ended in 2016. He also performed in their annual fundraiser, "The Front Page Follies." In 2015, he was appointed to an at-large seat on the board of the new Front Page Foundation, which assumed responsibilities for staging "The Front Page Follies." In 2016, he was elected president of the Front Page Foundation.

Frank volunteers as an on-camera host for East Tennessee PBS pledge drives. He also occasionally volunteers as emcee for various Bone Zones events, which feature lectures by world-famous forensic anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass.

In 2011, Murphy appeared as "The Governor" in the Oak Ridge Civic Ballet Association's production of The Nutcracker. He reprised the role in 2012 and 2013. He was the narrator for their production of The Ugly Duckling in 2012 and one of Cinderella's ugly stepsisters in Once Upon a Time in 2013. He played the king in The Sleeping Beauty in 2014. In the 2014 and 2015 productions of The Nutcracker, Murphy played Drosselmeyer, the magical toymaker. In 2016, ORCBA honored Murphy as their Volunteer of the Year at the Arts Council of Oak Ridge awards ceremony.

On November 18, 2014, the FBI Knoxville Division announced that Frank Murphy was that year's recipient of the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award. He was recognized with winners from the other field offices at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on May 1, 2015.

External links

References

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