Actor, author and radio personality Joe Frank was born in Strasbourg, in Alsace, on the eve of the Second World War, to a prosperous family. His father had traveled to America to re-establish his successful shoe manufacturing business and in 1939 he sent for his wife and infant son, the family thereby escaping Europe and the Holocaust. Frank's father was ill and he died soon after making the new business a success, when Frank was still a child. Frank grew up in New York, on Long Island, attended Hofstra University and the Writers Workshop of the University of Iowa, and taught English at a private high school in Manhattan.

Soon, however, his interest in radio led him to WBAI, the Pacifica Radio Station in New York, where in the late 1970s he began producing and starring in radio programs of distinctively surreal humor. This led to his first work for National Public Radio, first a short stint as weekend anchor for "All Things Considered," then producing radio plays which again highlighted Frank's gift for dark, absurdist humor and intensely personal narrative. By the mid 80s he had his own radio show at the public radio station in Los Angeles, KCRW, and there over two decades his weekly radio monologues and plays attracted an intensely loyal following and many awards for outstanding achievements in broadcasting. Toward the end of his time at KCRW his work became increasingly personal and confessional, often dealing with events in his life and those of his collaborators, such as Larry Block and Debi Mae West. Frank's relationship with KCRW ended in 2002, but his archived programs continue to air on national public radio and on his website, which occasionally features originally-produced material.

Possessed of a deep, sonorous voice, Frank occasionally does narration work in film and on television. He has had supporting roles in several movies, and has authored and acted in teleplays, such as several episodes of the "Inside Out" series. Frank's live readings of his stories continue to draw large audiences.