Werber was born in
Cologne,
Germany, but moved with his parents as a young child to escape the
Nazi regime, first to the
Netherlands and then
Belgium. His mother died, and after the start of
World War II he and his father were captured and interned in
Vichy France. They managed to escape and fled to the African Continent and then to
New York, arriving in 1941. They lived in
Florida and then in
Denver, Colorado, and after graduating Frank joined the
US Navy. After visiting
San Francisco on a tour of duty, he returned to live there in 1950 after his discharge. Werber worked at a wide variety of jobs, including for some time as a photographer for
United Press, but he became involved with the local
nightclub scene and in the early 1950s became
stage manager under
Enrico Banducci at the
hungry i nightclub. After four years working at the club and developing contacts in the entertainment business, Werber set up as an independent
press agent. In early 1957 he saw
Dave Guard and his informal group the Calypsonians perform at the Cracked Pot club in
Redwood City and decided to work with them. Werber improved the trio's stage presentation and helped expand its repertoire. The group grew in popularity in the Bay Area, which led to their signing a contract with
Capitol Records, which in turn led to a succession of best-selling recordings. Werber closely managed their career and their investments until the Trio split up in 1967. Werber also managed other folk-oriented, jazz and
rock groups including
The Journeymen,
We Five,
The Sons of Champlin and
The Mystery Trend. ==References==