Jon Peterson Wins First Annual Joe Franklin Award

Emmy Award-winning producer Steve Garrin - longtime producer of "The Joe Franklin Show," among many other credits - has presented the first annual "Joe Franklin Entertainment Award" to Jon Peterson, for his work starring in Chip Deffaa's musical play "Irving Berlin: In Person," currently running at the 13th Street Repertory Theater, 50 W. 13th Street, New York City.

Garrin presented Peterson with both a plaque, featuring the familiar Al Hirschfeld caricature of Franklin, and a rare Joe Franklin memorabilia publication. Peterson expressed his thanks to both Garrin and the late Joe Franklin, who was a firm believer in his talent.

Born in England, Jon Peterson trained with the Royal Ballet. He first made his mark on the West End, appearing in such musicals as "The Sound of Music," "Cats," and "Sophisticated Ladies." He starred as the Emcee in U.S. national tours of the musical "Cabaret," and covered the role on Broadway.

ASCAP Award-winning playwright Chip Deffaa then wrote the solo show "George M. Cohan Tonight!" for Peterson. Peterson originated the role (which has subsequently been played by David Herzog, Justin Boccitto and others), playing it for an extended run at the Irish Repertory Theater, Off-Broadway in New York. And since then, he has performed the award-winning show, off-and-on, for more than a decade, everywhere from New Orleans to Hollywood, to London and Seoul.

For his portrayal of Cohan, Peterson was honored by the Drama League, received a Drama Desk nomination, and won a Bistro Award, a Fringe Festival Award, and the Connecticut Critics' Circle Award. He hopes to eventually take Deffaa's new show, "Irving Berlin: In Person" to many cities as well.

Deffaa comments: "I created this new Berlin show especially for Jon Peterson, just as I did the Cohan show. I wrote it with Jon's specific strengths in mind--his tremendous vitality as a singer and dancer, his ability as an actor to convey equally well ebullience and poignance. For my money, there's no greater song-and-dance man working today, and it's always a great joy to develop a show with him."

Steve Garrin noted that the late Joe Franklin was a great admirer of the work of both Peterson and Deffaa, and was one of the earliest champions of "George M. Cohan Tonight!," plugging it heavily on the air.

Franklin, whom some considered the father of the TV talk show, made the Guiness Book of World's Records for hosting the longest-running talk show, interviewing some 300,000 guests in a career spanning five decades. Among the stars who made their first television appearances on Franklin's show were Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and Dustin Hoffman.

Franklin also took pride in interviewing, on TV or radio, many notables who rarely ever did interview shows, such as Charlie Chaplin, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, and Irving Berlin. A broadcasting legend, Franklin played himself in such films as "Manhattan," "Ghostbusters," "Twenty Ninth Street," and "Broadway Danny Rose."

And while he did not live to see the opening of "Irving Berlin: in Person," Franklin got to watch and express support for, Deffaa's Irving Berlin project in its early stages of development. He even contributed personal recollections of Berlin.

Steve Garrin has worked as a producer in television, radio, stage and video. He long worked as a producer for Joe Franklin and has the rights to the Franklin name and interests today. He was also, for years, the broadcast producer of the Drama Desk Awards. He has worked on videos of such well-known recording artists as George Benson, Dianas Krall, and Joshua Redman. He co-wrote comedian Pat Cooper's autobiography. And he produced Carol Channing's audio-book recording of her memoir, "Just Lucky I Guess."

Chip Deffaa is the author of eight published books, 16 published plays, and numerous songs and articles. For 18 years, he wrote about entertainment for The New York Post. Perhaps the world's foremost authority on Berlin's music, he has produced 10 albums dealing with Berlin's music - such as "The Irving Berlin Songbook," "Irving Berlin Revisited," and "Irving Berlin Rediscovered" - with more on the way.

"Joe Franklin was one-of-a-kind, and a terrific booster of great entertainment. It made me very happy to watch Steve Garrin present this Joe Franklin Award to Jon Peterson - to me, it seems to honor not just Jon Peterson but the memory of Joe Franklin. And both are worth celebrating, any time."

For more information on Jon Peterson in "Irving Berlin: In Person," or to order tickets, go to www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3117914.

Pictured: Steve Garrin presents Jon Peterson with the first annual Joe Franklin Entertainment Award.

To post a comment, you must register and login.