Jim Jacobs, Class of June 1960

Jim, along with his partner Warren Casey, is responsible for immortalizing Taft High School of the fifties. Author, composer, and lyricist of one of the longest running musicals in the history of Broadway, “Grease”.

Jim was born and raised in Chicago where, during the golden era of rock ‘n’ roll (1956—1960), he was a "greaser” at Taft. He played guitar and sang with such illustrious groups as "D.D.T. and The Dynamiters" and "Lefty and The El Rays". His curiosity in music soon had him sneaking into the “hot spots” of Chicago’s south side where he learned to play blues.

In 1963 he became involved with a local theater group where he met Warren Casey. During the next five years he worked with Paul Sills in over 50 community theater productions around Chicago, while employed as a writer by day. Professionally, he has worked both as an actor and writer for theater, films, recordings and commercials. He appeared on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize winning No Place to be Somebody.

Most recently, Jim sat as a judge in the popular television show You're the One That We Want, in which talented contestants auditioned for the lead roles of Danny and Sandy for a new Broadway production of "Grease" scheduled to open in New York in August, 2007.