Private Project

Not Your Average Joe

He's an Altoona icon, and he's certainly NOT your average Joe. Witness the extraordinary life and career of the local artist who has done it all, Joe Servello.

  • Kathrine Muller
    Director
    Grit and Grace
  • Kathrine Muller
    Producer
    Grit and Grace
  • Joe Servello
    Key Cast
  • Jay Shaffer
    Cinematographer
    The Doll House, Grit and Grace, Short-Sighted
  • Jay Shaffer
    Editor
    The Doll House, Grit and Grace, Short-Sighted
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Art, History, Community
  • Runtime:
    44 minutes 44 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 13, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.90:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Altoona, PA
    United States
    April 13, 2024
    Local Premiere, Non-Profit
Director Biography - Kathrine Muller

Kathrine Muller is a writer, education consultant, playwright, lyricist, and columnist. She wrote and produced the interactive children’s musical, Big Bad’s Big Bad Day, and Grit and Grace, an historical pageant based on the struggle for voting rights.

As an early childhood educator for most of her career, she wrote a monthly newspaper column for parents of preschoolers called, “Small Talk.” For the past seven years she has coordinated a statewide project that developed media materials designed to reduce substance misuse. She continues to write weaving social justice and human kindness themes into her work.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Sometimes in life, we are gifted with the opportunity to know remarkable people. Joe Servello is one of those “gifts”.

He is multi-talented man, who is kind, creative, generous and a bit of a wise-ass. I have known him for 40 years. I have bought his art, commissioned his art, enjoyed his illustrated books, and
have been entertained by his company over those years.

He is now 92, still painting, but losing his sight due to macular degeneration. I am one of the crew that gets him to appointments and does some errands. Each time I visited Joe, he would tell me amazing stories about his interesting careers and his life. I finally decided that his story needed to be documented and shared with the larger community. After all, he is a local legend.

From his time in the Navy, to his touring theatre company, to his varied teaching positions, to his community involvement, his exceptional life has been a non-stop, creative whirlwind.

I feel very privileged to be part of the team who has captured and is sharing his story.