Joel Higgins

Joel Franklin Higgins (born September 28, 1943) is an American actor and singer with a stage career spanning over 50 years. He is perhaps best known for his role as Edward Stratton III on the sitcom Silver Spoons. A graduate of Michigan State University and Oakland Technical High School where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity, 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.