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Joel Higgins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joel Higgins
Higgins in 1976
Born
Joel Franklin Higgins

(1943-09-28) September 28, 1943 (age 81)
Alma materMichigan State University
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1971–present
SpouseStacy Alberts (1983-present)
ChildrenGraham Higgins

Joel Franklin Higgins (born September 28, 1943) is an American actor[1] and singer with a stage career spanning over 50 years.

Life and career

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A graduate of Michigan State University where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity,[2] Higgins initially performed in coffeehouses to help pay his way through school. After leaving with a degree in advertising and working for six months for General Motors, Higgins went to Europe to perform.

In 1968, Higgins enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed at Camp Casey in Korea, serving as the Special Services Sergeant in charge of Entertainment. Following his Army days, he and several friends wrote a musical revue called The Green Apple Nasties. After leaving the Army, he sold the show to a producer and went on the road for two and a half years. During a performance in Louisville, Kentucky, Higgins was approached by a producer who asked him to play Sky Masterson in a regional theater production of Guys and Dolls. He went on a seventeen-week tour of the Midwest in the role.

In 1973, Higgins landed the role of Vince in the first national tour of Grease, where he toured for a year before leaving to join the pre-Broadway tryout of a new musical called Shenandoah. In 1975, he won the Theatre World Award for his role in the Broadway version of Shenandoah. In the same year, he began the role Bruce Carson in the CBS soap opera Search for Tomorrow, and in the following year he returned to Broadway for Music Is. In 1978, Higgins was featured in the role of Ben Gant in the Broadway musical Angel. While the show only ran for five nights, Higgins received a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance.

Higgins made the transition from daytime to primetime in 1979, with a starring role in the short-lived ABC television series Salvage 1 with Andy Griffith. Two years later, he starred in the ABC sitcom Best of the West[3] as United States Marshal Sam Best who, after returning from fighting in the American Civil War, uproots his family and moves them out west. ABC delayed renewing the series, and it was canceled after one season.

Higgins signed to star in a new NBC series, Silver Spoons, playing Edward W. Stratton III, the childlike son of one of the country's richest industrialists. In the show's opening, he learned he has a twelve-year-old son, played by Ricky Schroder, the product of his first marriage. The series ran from 1982 to 1987, the first four seasons airing on NBC and the fifth and final, in first-run syndication.[4]

Higgins returned to ABC in a new comedy, Have Faith,[3] in the spring of 1989, playing a church monsignor overseeing a madcap staff, co-stars of which included Ron Carey and Stephen Furst. The series did not fare well in the ratings, and expired after its short tryout run. He continued to guest star on numerous television series since that time.[3]

During the late 1970s and 1980s, he also appeared in several movies, including Bare Essence,[3] Threesome,[3] First Affair, and Killing at Hell's Gate.[3] He also continued to perform on stage, starring in the musicals She Loves Me at the Music Center in Los Angeles and Oklahoma! on Broadway, as well as writing over 200 jingles for products such as Kool-Aid, Kal Kan, M&M's, Coors Light and several theme songs including one for Lucille Ball's unsuccessful ABC comeback series, Life with Lucy.[5]

Higgins continued to perform throughout the 1990s and 2000s in several theaters around the country including The Muny in Forest Park, St. Louis (the largest and oldest outdoor theatre in America), The Starlight in Kansas City, The Fox in Atlanta, Cape Cod Playhouse, etc. He returned to Broadway in 1991–92 to star as "Stone/Stein" in City of Angels.[6]

All the while continuing to write, Higgins co-wrote and starred in The Fields of Ambrosia which debuted at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse before transferring to the Aldwych Theatre on London's West End. He also co-wrote and directed Johnny Guitar, at the Century Center Theater For The Performing Arts in New York, garnering numerous Drama Desk, Drama League and Lucille Lortel Award nominations (including Best Lyrics, Music, and Musical) and winning the Outer Critics Circle Award as Best Musical of 2004. The Musical has had over 30 subsequent productions around the country.[5]

Higgins has continued to appear in films, such as Dead Canaries, and No Pay, Nudity. In 2017, he released an EP of original songs titled A World Away on CD Baby under his full name, Joel Franklin Higgins.[5]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1975–78 Search for Tomorrow Bruce Carson #5 Series regular
1979 Salvage 1 Addison "Skip" Carmichael Main cast, 19 episodes
1981 Killing at Hell's Gate Jack Holmby TV movie
1981–82 Best of the West Marshal Sam Best Main cast, 22 episodes
1982–87 Silver Spoons Edward Stratton III Main cast, 116 episodes
1982 Bare Essence Matt Phillips TV miniseries
1983 Insight God Episode: "The Day Everything Went Wrong"
1983 First Affair Greg Simon TV movie
1984 Threesome Dan Shaper TV movie
1988 Laura Lansing Slept Here Walter Gomphers TV movie
1989 Have Faith Monsignor Joseph "Mac" MacKenzie Main cast, 7 episodes
1990 Rich Men, Single Women Nicky Loomis TV movie
1997 Family Matters Officer Geiss Episode: "Who's Afraid of the Big Black Book?"
1999 Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place Sharon's Father Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl and Graduation"
1999 Home Improvement Dr. Lloyd Fields Episodes: "Love's Labor Lost: Parts 1 & 2"
2000 JAG Capt. Peter Tully Episode: "Promises"
2003 Crossing Jordan Mr. Oliver Episode: "Pandora's Trunk: Part 1"
2003 Ed Gus Tavel Episode: "Death, Debt & Dating"
2003 Dead Canaries Alan Weis Feature film
2015 Dante and Beatrice: A Family Film Father O'Malley Short film
2016 No Pay, Nudity Stewart Feature film

References

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  1. ^ "The secret life of Joel Higgins". The Sun TV Times. Vancouver. United Press International. December 9, 1983. p. 54. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  2. ^ The Rainbow, vol. 132, no. 3, p. 50.[full citation needed]
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Joel Higgins Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. May 18, 2015. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015 – via Baseline & All Movie Guide.
  4. ^ Joel Higgins at IMDb
  5. ^ a b c Daly, Dana (January 2022). "Joel Higgins From 'Silver Spoons' Is 78 And Conducted A Wildly Successful Musical Career". Do You Remember?. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "Joel Higgins". Playbill. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
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