High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Rudy Franchi (born in New York City, April 21, 1939) is a writer and editor on film theory and film criticism and an antiques and collectibles expert. He helped to introduce the French critical protocol the "auteur theory" to the US. For several decades, Franchi also operated galleries that specialized in pop culture collectibles. In 1995, he began appearing as an appraiser on the PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, specializing in pop culture memorabilia.