18 dramas for the "NPR Playhouse," which won several awards. KCRW, 1986–2018 In 1986, on the invitation of Ruth Hirschman Seymour, the general manager of NPR's Santa Monica, California, affiliate KCRW, Frank moved to Santa Monica, where he wrote, produced, and performed in his own weekly hour-long radio program, "Joe Frank: Work In Progress." While at KCRW, Frank received several accolades. Joe Frank continued to work at KCRW until 2002, and his work evolved, as evidenced by the diverse series he produced. The first was "Work in Progress," then "In The Dark," followed by "Somewhere out There", and finally "The Other Side." Beginning in 2004, Frank began creating full-length shows for subscribers to his web site. In 2012, Frank started producing periodic half-hour shows for KCRW's "UnFictional" series. He continued to produce all-new shows for the series until months before his death. Other activities and personal life Starting in 2003, Frank performed on stage with original material at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, Illinois; at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco; and in Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum and Largo at the Coronet, as well as other venues. His 230-hour body of work continues to be re-aired on WNYC New York, and many NPR stations including the radio station at the University of California at Davis, KDVS, Savannah, Georgia WRUU, Cabool, Missouri KZGM, Carson City, Nevada KNVC, Cape May, New Jersey WCFA, and others with new stations being added. In early 2005, Frank suffered complete kidney failure. He received a second cousin's kidney in 2006, which continued to function normally (with the help of multiple immunosuppressant drugs) until his death. In 2012, Frank returned to KCRW for episodes of the station's "UnFictional" program. In May 2014, Frank had surgery to treat colon cancer, which was successful. In December 2015, Frank was hospitalized due to a gastrointestinal perforation following a routine medical procedure. This led to heart and kidney issues and Frank's complete recovery took a full year. His colon cancer returned in July 2017; he had surgery in October 2017 to excise a tumor in his colon. He died on January 15, 2018, after multiple reversals following the surgery, from sepsis. Radio program style Frank's radio programs are often dark and ironic and employ a dry sense of humor and the sincere delivery of