Distinguished Alumnus Joseph Edwin Longstreth, class of 1935

Joseph Longstreth graduated from Morton and attended Princeton College, majoring in Greek and philosophy.  He enlisted in the army  air corps in 1941 at the beginning of World War II.  He earned his wings and returned to work as a flight instructor.  He moved overseas and lived in Europe.

As a child he gave a solo piano recital at Earlham College, the first child to ever do so.

He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England, and at the Academie Nationale Dramatique in Paris, France.  Longstreth then studied and performed at the Conservatoria de Sat Cecilia in Rome, Italy, becoming fluent in French, Italian, and Latin.

He acted in and directed several plays in Europe and penned several books as a ghostwriter for Prentice Hall in the 1940s.  Joe became a skilled harpist, performing in Europe and the United States.

Longstreth appeared on television on an early series, Studio One, and produced the Joe Longstreth radio show on WLW in Cincinnati and WLWD television show in Dayton, Ohio. He then produced a show in Chicago that later became the Phil Donahue Show.

Longstreth  traveled around the world playing the harp and played with harpist John Escosa for the next sixteen years. He was often connected in the elite circles internationally but chose to live mostly in Richmond, Indiana, on his farm estate.

He was accused of smuggling a manuscript of a death-row, inmate, Carl Cheesman,  known as the “Red Bandit.”  The book, Cell Block 2455: Death Row was a best seller. He faced extradition to California in the 1980s, with the charges later being dropped.  This event tainted his reputation.

He was directly involved with the success of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in the 1990s where he served as a board member.  Joe was an active citizen in the renovation of Civic Hall, a member of the board for Historic Richmond, and a board member of the Historic Landmarks of Indiana.  He renovated more than twenty-three properties, including an 1844 church which he moved board by board to one of his farm estates.

Longstreth authored several children’s books. He married Peggy Goldenberg in 1998 and relocated to Naples, Florida, in 2001, where the two opened an art gallery known as the Longstreth-Goldenberg Art Gallery.  He died July 15, 2003, in Florida.