Joe Wiegand

Ongoing participation and support for the Theodore Roosevelt Association

Wiegand is a frequent attendant at symposia, special events and annual meetings organized by the Theodore Roosevelt Association. As far back as 2007, Wiegand attended the Theodore Roosevelt Annual Meeting and a symposium on Roosevelt given at Harvard University which included a trip to the Portsmouth Naval Base and the "Treaty Room" where the peace between Russia and Japan was negotiated in 1904 that ended the War and earned T.R. the Noble Prize.

The Great 2008 T.R. Tour

In 2008, Wiegand's started what he termed "The Great 2008 T.R. Tour" that was designed to visit the contiguous forty-eight states and which was to conclude with a celebration of T.R.'s 150th birthday on October 27 in Washington, DC. Wiegand extending the celebratory tour until March 4, 2009, one hundred years to the day of Theodore Roosevelt's last day as President of the United States. On October 26, Wiegand's one-man-show as Theodore Roosevelt was featured in a free, public performance at the Theodore Roosevelt birthplace, located at 28 East 20th Street, New York City, New York. That night, Wiegand flew to Washington, DC to reprise TR in the White House on the following day, TR's 150th Birthday.

Reprising Theodore Roosevelt at the White House

In late 2008, Wiegand performed in the East Room, of the White House on the 150th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt's birth before an audience including President and Mrs. George W. Bush as well as Roosevelt family members and invited guests. and a large audience. In an article on the performance, Wiegand was described in Northern Illinois University's description of the performance as having "an amazing physical resemblance to a young and vigorous Theodore Roosevelt." After the performance, President Bush noted, "Oftentimes people ask me, 'Do you ever see any of the ghosts of your predecessors here in the White House?' I said, 'No, I quit drinking.' But I just saw one". In a handwritten note to Wiegand, President Bush wrote, "Thank you. Your spirited performance for Theodore Roosevelt's 150th birthday celebration at the White House was a great way to commemorate the many accomplishments of our 26th President. I appreciate your help in making the event memorable for all our guests."

Educating American military personnel and families

In his mission on educating the public on Theodore Roosevelr, Wiegand has reached out to the American military and their families. On July 18, 2008, for example, at US Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Wiegand portrayed Teddy Roosevelt in the celebration of the Centennial of President Theodore Roosevelt's Great White Fleet aboard the USS Missouri Memorial July 18 1908. Wiegand was supported by the US Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter saying, "President Roosevelt would be proud of the many long term positive effects his Great White Fleet has had on our Navy, the nation and the world."

Educating students on Theodore Roosevelt - Students and teachers comment

Wiegand has reprised Roosevelt in schools across the US. In one visit to a high school, Prince George High School, in Virginia, portraying Roosevelt, Wiegand spoke for over an hour to the audience of high school history students about the conditions in the United States during Roosevelt's years as president.

Remaining in character, Wiegand took time after the formal presentation for students to ask him questions about Roosevelt. Of his performance, a history teacher said, “Students that have an appreciation for history definitely got a lot out of his visit." A student from the audience said “When (Wiegand as) Teddy answered my question, he did a good job answering it in a way that made it easy to understand." Discussing the visit, the High School online newspaper said that "His (Wiegand's) dialogue contained personal stories, stories about his presidency, and stories about his children. Students appreciated learning history in this manner, instead of the standard class lecture.....In addition to Wiegland’s knowledge of the life of President Theodore Roosevelt, many were impressed by his theatrical talents." Another student, posted to the high school's web page, "He (Wiegand) really brings to life the president for all of us since no one really was alive to live it. It was kind of like living a bit of history in modern times. At one point,I even forgot it was an actor because he did such a great job of bringing the role to life. He even knew more than what we are taught by the books in class, so it was kind of a history lesson in a sense." Another Advanced Placement (AP) History student said, "I was given the privilege to witness this event from the front row and I can truly say that this actor lives out his part. The presentation was not only entertaining, but it was quite informative. Being an APUSH student, I feel that this Teddy Roosevelt presentation will help better prepare me for the AP exam. It is also interesting to see all of the other students’ comments regarding the presentation in the article above. Overall this experience was quite informative and beneficial to all students who attended." Another boy said, "I truly enjoyed Mr. Weigand’s performance. It’s so rare to see someone so enthusiastic about their work and role models! I hope he comes back, because he was simply wonderful to watch and very amusing. I learned a lot about Teddy Roosevelt, more than I thought I would!" Another history teacher said on the same web page, "This guy was good. It was incredible how close he was to Teddy. From the mannerisms, to the phrases he used, to the way he looked..he was Theodore Roosevelt. His portrayal of the president was helpful for history students who were studying him at the time. He will now stick out to students more so than other less notable presidents." Another student commented, "I truly enjoyed Mr. Weigand’s performance. It’s so rare to see someone so enthusiastic about their work and role models! I hope he comes back, because he was simply wonderful to watch and very amusing. I learned a lot about Teddy Roosevelt, more than I thought I would!" Perhaps the most telling comment was by young female student who noted, "I loved Wiegand’s performance of Roosevelt! I was so entertained through all of the stories of Teddy’s life, it felt like we were really talking to one of our former presidents. I was actually disappointed when he started talking as himself, Joe Wiegand because he did such a fabulous job as an actor of making me believe he truly was Teddy Roosevelt that’s who I wanted him to be in my mind. It amazed me how different he was from his character and showed me how great of an actor he was. Due to his talent as an actor portraying Teddy Roosevelt I was so entertained, and I learned things that I could never have learned in a classroom."

Wiegand models for 2012 statue of Theodore Roosevelt at the American Museum of Natural History

In 2012, Joe Wiegand modeled for a new Theodore Roosevelt sculpture, commissioned the American Museum of Natural History.

In an article in the New York Times, Ivan Schwartz, who founded the Sculpture studio with his brother Elliot that was given the Statue commission, said of the need to obtain a good model to portray Roosevelt, “You want to start with somebody who resembles the character you want but who also understands the character.” Of Wiegand, Schwartz said, “He’s not a stand-in for the real man, but he certainly gets things going in the right direction.” The Schwartz brothers had flown Wiegand up to their studio from his home in Tennessee to do the modeling. “T.R. built that body,” Weigand said. “You rarely ever see pictures of him slouching. Everything was erect and forward and leaning into life. You can see the many levels of his gaze, and that he’s a man of vision looking into the future.”

Touring the United States portraying Theodore Roosevelt

Since 2010, Wiegand has continued to portray Roosevelt Coast-to-Coast.