Joe Piscopo

Joe Piscopo is an American actor, comedian, and conservative radio talk show host born on June 17, 1951, in Passaic, New Jersey, who grew up in North Caldwell, New Jersey. He attended West Essex High School, where he was a member of the drama club known as The Masquers and developed a reputation for approaching roles in unconventional ways. Following his 1969 graduation, he enrolled at Jones College in Jacksonville, Florida, earning a degree in broadcast management.

Piscopo joined Saturday Night Live in the summer of 1980 as a contract player, arriving during a period of significant transition after the show's original writers, producers, and cast had departed. While the new ensemble drew largely negative responses from critics and audiences, Piscopo and Eddie Murphy stood apart, and both were retained when Dick Ebersol assumed control of the program the following spring. During his tenure, Piscopo became recognized for celebrity impressions, most notably his portrayal of Frank Sinatra, for which he rewrote song lyrics with the assistance of Sinatra lyricist Sammy Cahn. He later reprised the Sinatra character in stop-motion animated advertisements for Lipton Brisk Iced Tea. He also appeared on the Weekend Update segment as a loud sports commentator and co-created the recurring characters The Whiners alongside cast member Robin Duke. Piscopo departed SNL at the conclusion of the 1983–1984 season.

His film work includes the role of Danny Vermin in Johnny Dangerously, opposite Michael Keaton in 1984, Moe Dickstein in Wise Guys in 1986, Doug Bigelow in Dead Heat in 1988, and Kelly Stone in Sidekicks in 1992. Beyond film, he produced an HBO special, authored The Piscopo Tapes for Pocket Books, released the album New Jersey on Columbia Records in 1985, and headlined The Joe Piscopo New Jersey Special, an ABC broadcast that aired in May 1986. In 1987, he was referenced by name in the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers single Jammin' Me.

During the mid-to-late 1980s, Piscopo pursued bodybuilding seriously, appearing on the cover of Muscle and Fitness magazine in April 1988 and again in June 1990. In 1994, he appeared on Broadway in Grease. In 2013, he was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Piscopo has maintained an active presence in radio, hosting Piscopo in the Morning on 970 AM The Answer in Hackensack, New Jersey, beginning in January 2014, a weekday program running from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Producer Frank Morano served as an on-air contributor from the show's launch through June 2020. Beginning December 13, 2020, Piscopo began hosting Ramsey Mazda Sunday Nights with Sinatra on 770 AM WABC in New York City and its sister station 107.1 FM WLIR in Hampton Bays, New York.

In his personal life, Piscopo married Nancy Jones in 1973; they had one child and divorced in 1988. He subsequently married Kimberly Driscoll in 1997, with whom he had three children before their divorce in 2006. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1990. Piscopo has resided in both Lebanon Township and Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.