Griffith '82 Builds Homes for Hollywood Movies and TV
When you watch a movie or TV, you probably don’t think much of the rooms and homes that the characters move through. While some of those locations are on sound stages, many others are rented for the occasion. This is where Joe Griffith ’82 comes in.
For 25 years, Joe has been in Hollywood, building homes and other things for movie sets. He has also developed art galleries, restaurants and other projects for the top names in entertainment and sports. His projects have been featured in Vogue, Architectural Digest, and other publications, as well as some of your favorite shows and movies.
“My life has been filled with amazing highs but also devastating lows,” says Griffth from his home in California. “I have been truly blessed to be a Prepper because I learned that I never have to handle anything alone.”
Though 3,000 miles away from 17th and Girard, he still feels connected to his alma mater. “From my decision to attend the Prep, through the rigors of the curriculum, to the lifelong friends I made and being part of the Prep community, the Prep has always been a profound influence on my life,” says Griffith.
He says that the Prep was a big reason he had the courage to go so far away from his New Jersey roots. “First, it’s a bold decision at a young age to leave the comforts of the community you’ve come to know and accept the challenge of going to a place where you know excellence in all areas of life is the uncompromising expectation,” says Griffith. “As you get older and responsibilities increase, the safe choice is often the most appealing. Many times I’ve thought back to my Prep days when confronted with tough choices.”
Recently, Griffith experienced another close connection to the Prep. When the football team traveled to California to play Oaks Christian in 2016, his daughter Caelyn Nora was selected to be an honorary captain for the Prep in honor of her winning gold in the floor exercise and an overall silver in gymnastics at the Special Olympics World Games. “Coach (Gabe) Infante invited Caelyn to be an honorary captain,” he says. “This was during another crossroads in my life. Watching her walk to midfield with Mack Grey ’17, son of one of my best friends from the Prep, and D’Andre Swift ’17, and feeling the warmth of being surrounded by the Prep community in the stands, my next chapter became clear: being a man for others.”
Since then, Griffith has been researching and planning to start a nonprofit that will build mixed-use housing where young adults and adults with disabilities can live independently or semi-independently, in an integrated environment, for the rest of their lives. “A bold ambition, but hey, I went to the Prep,” he says.
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