Joe was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and later graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He then went on to become a Shubert Fellow in Playwriting at the University of Minnesota's Graduate School of Theatre.
Joe's notable achievements include winning the McKnight Foundation Humanities Award for Drama, as well as having his stage plays produced in both London and the United States. In 1970, he moved to London, where he lived for 14 years and worked in film, television, radio, and theater as an actor, writer, and director.
During his time in London, Joe also worked as a freelance journalist, contributing features to Time Out magazine. He was a member of several professional organizations, including the British Equity, Screen Actors Guild, Dramatists Guild of America, and the British Union of Journalists.
In the mid-1980s, Joe became a member of the Celtic Arts Center, where he directed several productions, including Mary O'Malley's "Once a Catholic," which earned him a Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics Award for Direction. He also directed two Eugene O'Neill sea plays, "Bound East For Cardiff" and "The Long Voyage Home," which received an Eugene O'Neill Centennial Memorial Commendation from the City of Los Angeles.
In addition, Joe compiled, directed, and read "Celtic Visions and Dreams, an Evening of Poetry of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales," which was part of the Los Angeles Poetry Festival. He retired from the entertainment business in the 1980s and went on to become a community organizer and tenants' rights advocate.
Joe served on the Board of Directors of the Coalition for Economic Survival, a leading tenants' rights organization in the Los Angeles area. He was also a founding member, coordinator, and counselor at the CES Tenants' Rights Clinic, which provides free legal aid to tenants. Joe was listed as a tenants' rights resource on the California Department of Consumer Affairs' website and served as a Rent Stabilization Commissioner for the City of West Hollywood.
In 2004, the LA Weekly recognized Joe as "Best Way to Keep Your Landlord Honest" in their "Best of LA" issue, highlighting his work at the CES Tenants' Rights Clinic.
Today, Joe remains active as a performance storyteller and reader of poetry, directing and coordinating Celtic Arts Center's Dylan Thomas Celebration, Bloomsday readings from James Joyce's Ulysses, and poetry readings at the Center's Robert Burns Night. He has also performed at various events, including Los Angeles colleges, libraries, churches, and museums.
Joe is married and has two sons living in the Twin Cities, a daughter living in Oregon, and six grandchildren between them.
