- Born
- Died
- Birth nameGary Peltz
- Gary Franklin was born on September 22, 1928 in Leipzig, Germany. He was an actor, known for An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997), Rollercoaster (1977) and Police Story (1973). He was married to Sylvia. He died on October 2, 2007 in Chatsworth, California, USA.
- SpouseSylvia(1952 - October 2, 2007) (his death, 2 children)
- Popular Los Angeles-based television film critic who created "the Franklin Scale" a film ratings system of 1 to 10 where 1 is the worst and 10 being the best.
- A passionate opponent of film violence according to a 1997 story in Variety, Franklin became persona non grata at Warner Bros. after director Oliver Stone received a zero on the "Franklin Scale" for Natural Born Killers (1994), which Franklin deemed a "cultural crime." Elsewhere, Madonna once earned a "minus 5" from Franklin for her film documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991).
- Served in the Army as a combat and documentary cameraman in Korea before producing television documentaries in New York and Canada.
- Was born to a Jewish family in Leipzig, Germany. His family moved to the United States in 1938 to escape the Nazis, and changed their name from "Peltz" to Franklin. Before fleeing, Gary and his parents were beaten by the SS, resulting in depression and an extreme objection to violence in film.
- Joined the radio station KFWB-AM in 1972 in California as a reporter and eventually moved to TV in 1981 where he became an established bald-pated movie and entertainment critic for several stations. Later hooked up as an entertainment reporter at KCOP in 1992.
- I have always let my social conscience influence my criticism. People should be speaking out about the effects of movie violence, brutality and sexuality in the world, and I'm glad I've had the chance to make a tiny impact...That's how I'd like to be remembered. And perhaps for having saved [my viewers] a few bucks here and there.
- [Repeated when preparing to open boiled eggs with grandchildren] Gary Franklin: What did the queen say?
Grandchildren: Off with his head!
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