About Frank

Frank Murphy is a broadcaster, writer, and improviser.

Frank is the host and head writer of Tennessee Scholars’ Bowl, a long-running televised academic tournament for area high schools. The program airs weekdays at 5:30 p.m. on East Tennessee PBS. Frank joined Scholars’ Bowl at the start of its 2017 season.

On weekends Frank can be heard on B97.5 (WJXB-FM). He also hosts the station’s weekly public affairs show, “East Tennessee Now,” which airs Sunday mornings and is available as a podcast. The radio station can be streamed online at b975.com, on smart speakers, and via their mobile app.

Frank is available to give presentations about the books and notable cases of world-renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass at events planned by the team at BoneZones.com. Frank served as emcee and facilitator for Dr. Bass for many years.

Since 2021, Frank has hosted Up Close with Frank Murphy, a monthly late-night interview program that airs on East Tennessee PBS. Past episodes are available on the PBS App.

Frank hosts a podcast called the Frank & Friends Show that is available on YouTube and major podcast apps. He is joined by guest co-hosts for the podcast and for occasional travel vlogs about tourist attractions near the Great Smoky Mountains.

Frank was the 2014 Social Media inductee in the Friends of Literacy East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame. Frank’s blog, which was active from 2005 to 2015, was voted one of “East Tennessee’s Best” by the readers of the Knoxville News Sentinel for four consecutive years and the “Best of Knoxville” by the readers of Metro Pulse. He is currently writing a memoir with stories from his life and career.

Frank performed short-form comedy improv for over twenty years as a member of Einstein Simplified. He occasionally returns to perform with the troupe on special occasions. Since 2019, Frank has portrayed six characters as a voice actor in the annual Nativity Pageant of Knoxville. Frank was in the cast of several Oak Ridge Civic Ballet Association productions from 2011 to 2019, including The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. From 2014 to 2018, he was in the cast of the Front Page Follies, an annual musical spoof of local news stories.

Frank earned the title “Man of the Year” in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s 2017 fundraising competition. In 2012 and 2013, Frank won the “Host with the Most” stand-up comedy contest to raise money for charity.

Frank has emceed many fundraisers and festivals in East Tennessee including the Rocky Hill Christmas Parade, the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame Awards Gala, the Best of Blount Awards, Marble City Opera’s Pop-Up Opera Party the GO! Contemporary Dance Works Gala, New Year’s on the Square, and the Karns Fairest of the Fair Pageant. In 2018 and 2024, he was voted “Knoxville’s Finest Emcee” by the readers of Blank Newspaper.

Prior to joining B97.5 (WJXB), Frank was heard on the air in Knoxville at WGAP, WPLA, WNOX, WWST, WTXM, and WOKI. Prior to moving to Tennessee, Frank worked at KLOS, KROQ, and KPWR in Los Angeles and WAVA in Washington, D.C.

Frank graduated from George Mason University, where he won the Senior of the Year award. He became a KCBS Certified Barbeque Judge in 2013. His hobbies include writing, swimming, and growing figs. Frank has visited all 50 states and hopes to take his wife Jere to the two states she has not yet visited. Frank and Jere have two adult children and five grandchildren.