Joseph Charles John
"Joe
" Piscopo
(born June 17, 1951) is an American comedian and actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live
.
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JOE PISCAPO TICKETS
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Early life
Born in
Passaic,
New Jersey, Piscopo attended
West Essex High School [1] and was a member of the drama club "the Masquers". He developed a reputation for never playing a part the way it was written. Although his father wanted Joe to become a lawyer like himself, Joe ultimately went into stand-up comedy in the late 1970s, becoming a cast member of the short-lived sketch-comedy series
Madhouse Brigade in 1978. After which he went on to play Danny Vermin in the 1984 movie,
Johnny Dangerously.
Saturday Night Live
In the summer of 1980 he was hired as a contract player for
Saturday Night Live
. The show had gone through major upheaval when all the writers, major producers, and cast members had left that spring. The all-new cast bombed with critics and fans with the exception of Piscopo and
Eddie Murphy; they were also the only two cast members to be kept when
Dick Ebersol took over the show the following spring.
Piscopo was best known for his boorish impressions of celebrities such as
Frank Sinatra (he wrote Sinatra a letter asking his permission; Sinatra agreed and jokingly dubbed him "vice-chairman of the board"). Piscopo left
SNL
in 1984, but unlike Murphy he did not find major success. He appeared in a few successful films such as
Johnny Dangerously
and in an episode of
Star Trek: The Next Generation
, he also had his own
HBO comedy special, but was regarded more as a punch line to a bad joke about the doomed careers of most
SNL
alumni.
One of Piscopo's more successful bits on
SNL
included his sports commentary on the
Weekend Update portion of the show (called "SNL Newsbreak" at that time), lead by a series of rhyming or otherwise associated words, rather than a sentence, leading up to his first story. One example surrounded one of
Muhammad Ali's last bouts during the 1980s, with Eddie Murphy in
Rick Baker makeup as Ali.
"The big story, Muhammad Ali! Last night...fight...drama...Bahama...LOST!"
and...
"The big story! Baseball! Yankees! Billy Martin hired! The big question: When will he be fired?"
Piscopo's sports reports impressed NBC network officials enough to allow him to continue his persona on
NBC's Sportsworld program in the early 1980s.
During his time on SNL, Piscopo recorded the single "The Honeymooners Rap" in which he impersonated
Jackie Gleason as
Ralph Kramden of
The Honeymooners
. (Also appearing on the single was an uncredited Eddie Murphy as
Art Carney's character, Ed Norton). "The Honeymooners Rap" also appeared on Piscopo's 1985 comedy album
New Jersey
.
In the character of Paulie Herman Piscopo lampooned
Piscataway Township, New Jersey triggering an immediate outcry from officials of that Township and the character was dropped. Part of the reparte of the Paulie Herman character was a Piscopo catch phrase in response to other characters mentioning New Jersey: "What Exit
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In the 1980s, Piscopo starred in and made a series of
Miller Beer commercials.
In 1986, Piscopo was in the "Lets Go Mets" music video.
In 1992, he provided the voice for Sheriff Terrorbull in the Saturday morning cartoon series
Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
.
In the early 1990s, Piscopo became a subject of controversy after his newly buffed physique and appearances on fitness magazines led many to speculate he was using
steroids. Piscopo has repeatedly denied the allegations and says he began a campaign to improve himself after battling
thyroid cancer from 1981 to 1982. He has also appeared in anti-steroid
public service announcements (PSAs). Piscopo lampooned the controversy in his
HBO Special, wherein he appeared to have a drug test during the show.
In more recent years, Piscopo appeared in the long-running
Broadway revival of
Grease
, guest-starred on major TV series such as
Law & Order
and toured with other
SNL
alumni such as
Kevin Nealon and
Victoria Jackson. Piscopo is often cast as a villain in comedies such as
Sidekicks
and
Johnny Dangerously
. He appeared as
ladies man "Rocky" in the contemporary version of
Herman Melville's
Bartleby
(2001). Some in his native New Jersey have urged Piscopo to run for state office, and Piscopo considers himself "a
Democrat, but a little conservative".
Personal Information
Piscopo's second wife, Kimberly Driscoll, filed for divorce on July 10, 2006.
Piscopo currently resides in
Lebanon Township, New Jersey.
[2]
Piscopo is a big New Jersey Devils Fan.
Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live
- Blaire, a homosexual hair stylist. Friends with Dion (played by Eddie Murphy)
- Doug Whiner, one half of the Whiner couple (Wendy Whiner was played by Robin Duke)
- Froggy from SNL
s parody of The Little Rascals
- Harry Schliemer from Schliemer and Laub Songwriters
- Mr. Blunt
- Mr. Wonderful of the Interesting Four
- Paulie Herman, an annoying, high-voiced young man from New Jersey (This was Piscopo's only recurring character he did when he was a castmember for Jean Doumanian)
- Pudge, an elderly man who plays the piano in a run-down bar. He rambles about the good old days with his friend, Solomon (played by Eddie Murphy).
Celebrity impersonations
- Allen Funt
- Andy Rooney
- Barbra Streisand
- Carl XVI Gustaf
- Curly Howard
- Dan Rather
- David Hartman
- David Letterman
- Dean Martin
- Doug Llewelyn
- Ed McMahon
- Ed Sullivan
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- Frank Sinatra
- Geraldo Rivera
- Howard Stern
- James Watt
- Jerry Lewis
- Jesse Jackson
- Jim Fowler
- Jimmy Carter
- Joan Rivers
- John Anderson
- John F. Kennedy
- John Kenneth Galbraith
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- John McEnroe
- John Newcombe
- Karl Malden
- Lee Iacocca
- Leonard Nimoy
- Lorne Greene
- Marvin Hamlisch
- Pat Cooper
- Paul Harvey
- Peter Marshall
- Peter Yarrow
- Phil Donahue
- Pope John Paul II
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- Rex Reed
- Richard Nixon
- Robert De Niro
- Robin Leach
- Ronald Reagan
- Steve Lawrence
- Sylvester Stallone
- Ted Koppel
- Tom Carvel
- Tom Snyder
- Winston Churchill
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Pop culture references
- Piscopo is mentioned in three episodes of The Simpsons. In season four's "Brother From the Same Planet," Bart is seen watching "Tuesday Night Live," starring Krusty the Clown, and comments, "I Miss Joe Piscopo." In season five's "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", Homer refers to 1985 and says "..and a young Joe Piscopo was leaving Saturday Night Live
to conquer Hollywood." This was intended as a joke, referring to the fact that Piscopo's career didn't really proliferate significantly after he left SNL
. In season twenty's Coming to Homerica, Marge Simpson, talking to her new nanny in front of her baby Maggie, references Piscopo's relationship with his former nanny Kimberly Driscoll and says "Maggie, you now have a nanny, just like the ones Joe Piscapo and Ethan Hawke left their wives for."
- In the Scrubs episode, My Mirror Image, Dr. Cox is interrupted during his workout, and asks the interns, "What does this outfit tell you?", to which Dr. Kelso responds, "You're entering a Joe Piscopo look-a-like contest?"
- On the Family Guy episode, Meet the Quagmires, Peter says that not taking Lois to the movies is worse than the time he gave Joe Piscopo a barbell set. It then shows Peter and Joe in a room with workout equipment. Peter says "Ok Joe, now don't get carried away with this." Joe replies "Don't worry Peter, I'll only work out in my down time."
- On the Star Trek the Next Generation episode "The Outrageous Okona", he appeared in the form of a holodeck comedian.
- He was mentioned in two episodes of Married With Children: once by Al Bundy, in order to distract a security officer at a filming studio, and a second time in the episode "A Tisket, A Tasket, Can Peggy Make a Basket?" where Al and Peggy recognize him (off screen) as an usher at a basketball game. He is actually referenced a 3rd time, when Kelly, Bud, and Al are discussing names for the supposedly upcoming new arrival to the Bundy family. After hearing his kids'a suggestions, Al Bundy deadpans 'Piscopo'.
- A caricature of Piscopo appears very briefly in the animated made-for-TV movie, Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Near the end of the closing credits, one of the numerous "joke credits" reads "Our Only Regret: Joe Piscopo."
- He is mentioned in the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song, Jammin' Me
.
- The Nintendo 64 game Gex 64: Enter The Gecko tells the player to "Never take career advice from Joe Piscopo".
- On the Viktor Vaughn album, Vaudeville Villain, Joe Piscopo is referenced in the song 'Saliva', with the lyrics: "Cock diesel and still tell a joke like Joe Piscopo".
References
- Strauss, Robert. "So Jersey, He Deserves His Own Rest Area", ''The New York Times'', August 7, 2005. Accessed October 25, 2007. "Mr. Piscopo's father, also named Joe, was a lawyer and the family mostly lived in Essex County, the younger Joe graduating from West Essex High School in North Caldwell. With his "Saturday Night Live" fame, he moved to one of the richest corners of New Jersey, Alpine, persuading Mr. Murphy to join him there in that wealthy enclave by the Palisades."
- Staff. "On the Comeback Trail: John Kerry and...Joe Piscopo?", ''The left coaster'', March 9, 2005. Accessed June 11, 2009.