Ralph Archbold is heavyset, wears wire-rimmed bifocals, walks with a cane and spends the majority of his days dressed in a ruffled shirt, brass-buttoned coat, bloomers and buckled shoes.
Archbold has been the official Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia since 1987, and his photo appears on Philly postcards and city cab maps to prove it. He answers his office phone, "Ben Franklin." To top it off, he even shares his birthday, January 17, with the Founding Father himself.
The 66-year-old grandfather began one recent Saturday morning just like every other. He drove his Subaru from his suburban Philadelphia home to the Independence Visitor Center to host Breakfast with Ben, the weekly event at which he shares stories of Franklin's life with tourists.
Archbold, who is accredited by the National Speakers Association and received the organization's prestigious Council of Peers Award for Excellence (only 125 men and women in the world can claim the honor), addresses crowds of all sizes. He makes between 500 and 600 appearances a year, occasionally cramming as many as three gigs into one day. He rakes in $10,000 for his largest appearances.
Archbold, who has done more than 18,000 presentations as Franklin, speaks in a variety of venues, ranging from classrooms to corporate conventions to national television programs. He has addressed both plumbers and pharmaceutical company salesmen at corporate retreats. Last spring, for example, he was in Washington talking to a group of financial planners about Franklin's philosophy of wealth. "Franklin is so versatile," Archbold said. "There's material on everything you can think of; he was a businessman, scientist, insurance agent, inventor, printer, postmaster and educator."
Making the material relevant is not too difficult. When one child at a recent appearance told the group he wanted to be a firefighter, Archbold talked about how Franklin founded the nation's first fire department. When he talked to a senior group, he mentioned that Franklin invented the bifocals at the age of 78. "No matter what [audience members] come up with, there's usually a story I can tell," said Archbold, who added that he hopes everyone who hears him talk will "go back and tell that story to someone else."
Two years ago, he traveled to Paris, where Franklin served as a foreign minister, right before the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth. His work has also taken him to Germany and England to promote tourism in Philadelphia.
He has appeared on every major television network, and just last spring served as Stephen Colbert's sidekick when The Colbert Report came to town before the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Archbold said that Colbert himself called to ask him to appear on the show, since the two had worked together when the host came to Philadelphia a few years back.
In the summertime, you can find him sitting under the mulberry tree in Franklin Court. Just as Franklin himself did in that very same spot, Archbold tells stories to whoever stops by to listen. It's the storytelling that keeps Archbold going and what he says distinguishes him from all the other Franklin impersonators out there (impersonating Franklin is, in fact, a growing industry). "I love it, " said Archbold. Portraying Franklin "keeps me from having to work."
A Fortuitous Beginning
Archbold first played Franklin in 1973- -- and it was entirely by chance. Working by day as a commercial photographer, he was taking night classes at a local college in his hometown of Dearborn, Mich. When his class was canceled one night, he got roped into reading lines opposite auditioning actresses in a neighboring classroom. The casting director in that classroom later offered him a job at Greenfield Village, an outdoor museum space in Dearborn that contains the homes of Henry Ford and the Wright Brothers. Archbold, who was 31 at the time, got the Franklin role because none of the other historical actors wanted to portray an older character.
He started off slowly, delivering a 10-minute speech every hour at the Village. But he liked playing the role so much that he delved into researching Franklin's life, reading every text about the historical figure he could find. Today, more than 200 of them line his bookshelves. "I get closer to Ben Franklin all the time," Archbold told Americana Magazine in 1985. "The more shows and reading I do, the more kinship I feel."
Archbold gained popularity at Greenfield Village, and local schoolteachers began asking him to speak to their classes. With the United States bicentennial celebration shining the spotlight on Franklin and other colonial leaders, Archbold realized that he could turn the hobby into a career by moving to Franklin's stomping ground, Philadelphia. He relocated with his first wife and four children in 1982. "They had people who had a wig and a costume, but didn't necessarily know much," Archbold told the Detroit Free Press, referring to Franklin impersonators in Philadelphia at the time.
A Local Celebrity
Archbold works most days of the week, meaning that he is in costume more often than not. On days he makes appearances, he stays in Franklin garb from the moment he leaves home to the time he returns at the end of the day.
He said that he is probably called "Ben" more often than "Ralph" on the whole. On the city streets, he is a celebrity.
"That looks like Ben Franklin," one elderly woman whispered to her companion as they crossed paths with Archbold one recent afternoon.
Others are more direct.
"Look, it's Ben Franklin!" shouted one mother to her two children as they saw Archbold outside the Independence Visitor Center. The family asked to take a picture with him, and he obliged, as he does with all photo requests.
Archbold said he gets stopped all the time. The attention may seem overwhelming, but he doesn't mind. "It's part of the joy," he said. "They're taking these pictures all over the country."
At a televised event last spring, Archbold even outshined Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter. As a guest on the Food Network's Dinner: Impossible, Archbold discussed Philadelphia's rich history with the show's host, chef Michael Symon, and ended up at a 150-person block party - catered by Tony Luke's - in the company of the mayor. At the party - in an alley at 11th and Wharton streets in South Philly - Archbold made the rounds with Nutter. And although the mayor was trailed by a police detail, more people seemed to be excited by Archbold's presence than the politician's.
As the mayor departed, he walked past two of the long dinner tables without being noticed. At the table closest to his car, he stopped without attracting any attention. Nutter leaned in and waved to the group feasting on cheese steaks. "Goodbye," he said, and the crowd finally returned the parting word.
Impersonators Attract
On the eve of Independence Day this past summer, Ben Franklin married Betsy Ross.
Archbold tied the knot with Linda Wilde, 50, who portrays the famous seamstress professionally. The two met a year ago when she called him to appear at a friend's wedding. There, they discussed their mutual love of history and desire to dress up, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Soon after, Archbold asked her to join him as Betsy Ross at an appearance, and the rest is history.
They were wed - in period garb - in a public ceremony in front of Independence Hall. Some friends even came decked out in costume, including the best man, who stood tall as Thomas Jefferson. Nutter officiated the event, which drew more than a thousand spectators and was reported in mainstream news media across the country. Though the marriage was real and legally binding, Archbold did not completely cast off his alter-ego, even during his wedding ceremony. When asked if he was ready to remarry, Archbold quipped, "My first wife Deborah died in 1774. It's been a long time," the Inquirer wrote.
Who Does Him Best?
Archbold is not alone in the Franklin impersonation business, but most agree that he is the best Ben.
"It's easy to look like Franklin - he's very much a caricature," Archbold said. "There are tall Ben Franklins, short Ben Franklins, skinny Ben Franklins." His peers, he said, fall into two categories: some are "good at meet and greets," meaning they can socialize with people as Franklin but are not good in front of crowds; others are simply "good history lecturers."
Archbold tries to find a balance between the two in his interpretation. Unlike Dean Bennett, arguably the second most prominent Franklin impersonator in Philadelphia, Archbold does not consider himself an actor. Instead, he considers himself primarily a speaker, but takes special care to maintain the integrity of his portrayal. He refuses to use a cell phone in public, for instance, when wearing one of his seven Franklin outfits.
Archbold "just seems to personify what people's thought of Franklin is," said Tom Muldoon, president of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. "He has a real knowledge of Franklin, and he's a terrific speaker." The other Franklin impersonators, he said, lack the depth of knowledge that Archbold possesses.
Even after 35 years and his new marital commitments, Archbold isn't planning on quitting his Franklin impersonating anytime soon. There is nothing he would rather be doing with his time. "Find something you love to do, and make a living of it," he said.
