One of Broadway's master storytellers, and possessor of a memory filled to brimming with theatre lore, Botto will chat with the veteran talk-show host on his WOR-AM (710 AM) radio program. "The Joe Franklin Show" airs from 3 to 5 AM ET. Botto will discuss his newly updated edition of "At This Theatre: Playbill's 100 Years of Broadway Shows, Stories and Stars," which is flying off bookshelves and may soon enter a second printing. Listeners can expect to hear the noted writer discuss some of his favorite luminaries: Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Tallulah Bankhead, Katharine Hepburn and more, most of whom he knew.
The ultimate backstage tour of Broadway, "At This Theatre" (Applause Books) is a complete history of Broadway theatre in the twentieth century. The revised version of "At This Theatre" features more than 400 illustrations: production photographs, Playbill covers, souvenir books, sheet music and drawings.
Born in Union City, NJ, Botto contributed lyrics and revue sketches to such shows as New Faces and Shoestring Revue. He was a Senior Editor at Look magazine for the final ten years of that publications life, and has written for the New York Times Magazine, The Daily News Magazine and Ladies Home Journal. He has been a Senior Editor of Playbill since the 1980's.