James William Logsdon Obituary

James William Logsdon attended The Academy At Shawnee High School in Louisville, KY. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about James William Logsdon.

Graduation Year	Class of 1958
Date of Passing	Feb 15, 2008
About	Jim Logsdon, 67, died Fri., Feb. 15, 2008, was single, grew up in the Portland area & was a 1958 Shawnee alum. Who could forget his homecoming assembly antics, helping Mrs. Rice, knowing Leonora Johnston, the haunted house & the many people he knew? You can't confine his life to the page. Remember that he won the city's "I Speak for Democracy" essay contest & shared the same Young Democrats dias with baseball's Ted Williams & then presidential hopeful Adalai Stevenson? 1959 saw him as Robert Morse's understudy in "Take Me Along" & replacing Morse on tour, when he left for "How to Suceed in Business.." Jim then studied at Maryville College, in Tenn., & at U of L. A WHAS internship launched a jam packed lifetime of diverse professional & personal experiences like assisting Eleanor Roosevelt. Jim moved around so much that who knows where his Army Silver Star or the briefcase he used to deliver dispatches to then Southeast emissary Henry Cabot Lodge went. This longtime Hon. Kentucky Colonel, 6 year Army veteran (1963-69) & distinguished hero (Black Ops) belonged to the AGMA, AGVA, AFTRA, SAG & Equity Actors unions. He was the impetutus for a wide range of causes: the CETA job grant program, the city's Main Street revival, with his shop Mouse Power, arts fundraisers like the Louisville Ballet's Ballet Barre, manning the library's first gift shop, avidly supporting the Opera's Hard Scuffle Steeplechase & founding Light Up Bardstown Rd. He had myraid interests, especially the arts, & loved long walks, good conversations with friends, intimate parties, antiques & Bid One card games. Those in the arts won't forget his bigger than life personality, humorous escapaders & Jim's success at every audition. There were roles with the Catholic Theater Guild, on & off Broadway, the Blue Apple Players, recording for the blind, TV & radio voice work, recording for the blind & his acting in Shakespeare in the Park garnered him a favorable review in the coveted Folger's Shakespearian Library. Who'll ever forget him coordinating a U of L variety show with cameos by area musicians like Mabel of The Pine Room, painting a dragon on the wall of the old Louisville Ballet building, at Bardstown Rd. & Rosewood Ave. & organizing the Cherokee Gardens Chili Society among his other exploits? Some of the dinner guests to his home included Janos Starker, Marjorie Slasky, Mikhail Baryshnikov & late operatic diva Bererly Sils. He worked with a Who's Who of arts scene leaders such as Harlow Dean, the late C. Douglas Raimey & late Maestro Moritz Bomhart. Writing credits included scripting, under the alias Tom Pope, late Loyuisvillian Billy Girdler's cult film "Manitou", speech writing for the late Gov. Julian Carroll & penning poems & commercial catch phrases like "Progress is our most important product." At Alix Adams Models, Jim shared his expertise as a TV & radio commercial voice talent & make up man with youngsters. Also, he briefly worked at then Girdler opwned Tube Turns & at the ICI Americas Army Ammunition Plant in Charlestown, Ind. Famous theater friends included Jonathan Winters, Ned Beatty, Mitchell Ryan & the late Warren Oates, Don Cooper & Charlie Kissinger. He proudly bragged about his great uncles, the Tobias Brothers songwriting team, best known for standards such as "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree", "Harbor Lights", & the Looney Tunes theme "The Merry Go Round Broke Down". Later George Tobias branched out into character roles in "Sgt. York", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "The Glenn Miller Story", "The George M. Cohan Story" & on TV's "Bewitched as Abner Kravitz. Call 895-5888 for memorial details. Jim always said he "had a good run while it lasted" & enjoyed each of you he met. Jim, I know all your friends in the creative community & all the Shawnee High class of 1958 are sorry they didn't learn of your passing until now. You were always a pleasure to work with & know. Paraphrasing Shakespeare, "Thy tongue is now an unstringed instrument so good night, sweet Prince & flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." thanks to Ms. sandi Whiteside, Adult Protective Services, Mr. Russ Marlowe & his countless veterans connections, Ms. Doris Vinson, the staffs of the KDVA, the Regional VA Office, University Hospital & the VAMC patient advocacy, transfer & admitting offices.