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What does his middle initial “J” stand for?
It turns out that it is just a single letter with no period after it (i.e. it doesn’t stand for anything).
Joseph J Friedman was born June 30, 1938, in Twin Falls, Idaho, to Harry Friedman and Fannya Wax Friedman. He had an older sister, Shirley Ester Friedman (1934-2017) and a younger brother, Harry Gordon Friedman (1941-2011). His father was killed suddenly, when Joe was 2 years old. Eventually the family moved to Los Angeles, where he grew up.
He was a graduate of UCLA. He worked briefly at the Friedman Bag Company. He married Bonnie Diane Weisbaum in 1962 and they had two children.
His son Adam says: “He worked in advertising in NY in the 1960s and decided that wasn’t his thing. He and Bonnie and their 5 year old daughter, Holly, went on an 11-month trek through Europe in a VW van in 1969 and then came back to LA where Adam was born soon after. In the early 70s, my dad taught art at CSUN, but by the late 70s he basically semi-retired himself. He never had another boss. Joe lived in LA continuously from 1970-2014. In 2014 he moved to a senior living place in San Jose, near me.”
Adam summarized his dad further:
– Joe loved all things Macintosh
– Joe loved his Mom (Fannie), his sister (Shirley), his brother (Harry), and to his two stalwart friends – Maggie and Colin
– Joe went to LA High and UCLA, and often reminisced about his ΦΣΔ brothers and Rally Committee
– Joe often talked about the family’s year-long trip to Europe in 1969
– Joe was an artist by nature and particularly loved sculpting
– Joe was a promoter of sex education at both local high schools and the LA Sex Information Helpline
– Joe enjoyed smoking pot
– Joe loved watching TV
– Joe lived on TV dinners and fast food
– Joe loved Mid-Valley Athletic Club and it became a central part of his life in the 80s
– Joe loved Club Med and had some of his best times there
– Joe loved Playboy and was a lifetime subscriber
– Joe loved playing poker and getting together with his poker buddies
– Joe loved talking politics and was vehemently anti-Republican Party
– Joe was really proud of his geodesic dome home. He thought it represented his uniqueness.
Joe and Bonnie divorced in 1983.
Joe J Friedman died March 23, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA.
The above image shows Gersh (Harry) Friedman’s petition for naturalization at the District Court of the 11th Judicial District of Twin Falls, Idaho on Sept 11, 1940, sadly, just a few months before his death. Shirley and Joseph are listed, Harry was not born yet. Note the witnesses are Harry Eston, most likely Harry Friedman’s banker and George Warberg, who you can see in the 1940 census below, was the families next-door-neighbor.
