Joseph Charles Abdo

1942 - 2018

February 16, 1942 - September 18, 2018 Joseph Charles Abdo, 76, was the son of Francis J. Abdo, M.D., and Ida Mae Barnes Abdo. He grew up in Hollywood and attended Cheremoya Elementary, Joseph Le Conte Junior High, and Hollywood High. He graduated from UCLA in 1964 earning a B.S. in Microbiology and an M.A. in comprehensive health planning at UCLA, and he earned a second master's in applied economics in Lisbon, Portugal. In July, 1964, he married Judy Ulrich Abdo. He served in the US Air Force from 1967-1971, returning then to Los Angeles where he worked in health systems administration. He was subsequently married to Joanne Samuels. In the late 1970s, he moved to San Francisco, and in 1984 to Lisbon, Portugal, where he lived as an expatriate for the next 26 years before retiring to Hollywood. In Lisbon, he was a man of many parts. He crafted traditional Portuguese tiles, taught English to licensed tour guides, wrote for travel magazines, had a walking-tour business, worked as a translator, was the administrator of the British Hospital, and acted in over 20 productions of the Lisbon Players, a British theatre troupe. While in Lisbon, he wrote five books: two travel guides to Lisbon, a history of the first Christians in Tibet, a history of the multi-generational Dabney family of American diplomats in the Azores, and a biography of Samuel Longfellow, brother of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Joe Abdo was an actor and extra throughout his life in Hollywood and in Portugal. In retirement, he returned to his beloved Hollywood to pursue actively a post-retirement career as an actor, writer, and producer. He was a proud and active member of SAG AFTRA. He volunteered at film festivals and the Special Olympics, read to kindergartners, and fed the homeless. He was a past member of the Los Angeles City Neighborhood Council in Hollywood. Joe was an avid traveler, a roving intellect, a person of immense curiosity about everything, and a hoarder and imparter of lots and lots of facts about all kinds of matters both familiar and obscure. He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, George Abdo and Sara Campbell Abdo of Pasadena; by nephew David Abdo (Kirsten) of Studio City; by niece Maryanna Abdo (James Crabtree) of Singapore, and by five grandnieces and nephews: Eleanor, Henry, and Teddy Abdo, and Alexander and Sophie Crabtree. He is remember affectionately by many others. A private memorial service will be held.