Joe Piscopo

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Piscopo grew up in North Caldwell[2] and attended West Essex High School and was a member of the drama club "The Masquers".[3][4] He developed a reputation for never playing a part the way it was written. After graduating from high school in 1969, Piscopo attended Jones College in Jacksonville, Florida, where he received a degree in broadcast management.[5]

In the summer of 1980, Piscopo was hired as a contract player for Saturday Night Live. The show had gone through a major upheaval when all the writers, major producers, and cast members left that spring. The all-new cast bombed with critics and fans, with the exception of Piscopo and Eddie Murphy; thus they were the only two cast members to be kept when Dick Ebersol took over the show the following spring. With the success of SNL, Piscopo moved to the wealthy borough of Alpine, New Jersey.[4]

Piscopo was best known for his impressions of celebrities such as Frank Sinatra. Piscopo rewrote the lyrics for a Sinatra sketch with the help of Sinatra lyricist Sammy Cahn, and recalled that "by the grace of God, the old man loved it."[6] Piscopo and Robin Duke also played Doug and Wendy Whiner.

Piscopo left Saturday Night Live at the end of the 1983–1984 season. In 1984, he starred with Michael Keaton in the movie Johnny Dangerously, to mixed reviews, as well as a special for HBO and wrote a book for Pocket Books called The Piscopo Tapes. An album, New Jersey, for Columbia Records, followed in 1985[7] and an ABC special called The Joe Piscopo New Jersey Special in May 1986.[8] In 1987, Piscopo was mentioned in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' No. 1 rock single "Jammin' Me".

In the mid-to-late 1980s, Piscopo had an interest in bodybuilding. He first got involved with the sport when he was doing impressions of Bruce Springsteen on Saturday Night Live, and then became a muscle-building enthusiast.[9] He appeared on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine in April 1988 and June 1990. In the latter issue, he said, "Some people in Hollywood think I'm nuts with this bodybuilding stuff. They'll say, 'You're getting too big. You'll hurt your career.' But they don't understand that high that comes from a workout, the challenge, and the personal victory."[10]

Since January 2014 he has hosted Piscopo in the Morning with Al Gattullo, Frank Morano (2014-2020), Joe Sibilia (2020-present), and Debbie DuHaime from 6:00 to 10:00 am, Monday through Friday on AM 970 The Answer (WNYM) in New York City.[11] and starting on December 13, 2020 Piscopo also began to host the Ramsey Mazda Sunday Nights with Sinatra on 770 AM WABC in New York and WABC's sister station 107.1 FM WLIR in Hampton Bays.[12]

Piscopo considered running as an independent for Governor of New Jersey in the 2017 gubernatorial election, based in part on the political success of Donald Trump, whom he had campaigned for in 2016. He got encouragement from a number of political figures, including former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.[13] However, in May 2017 he decided not to run.[14]

Piscopo married former Wheel of Fortune producer Nancy Jones in 1973. They had one child and divorced in 1988. In 1997, he married Kimberly Driscoll, who was his son's nanny when Piscopo had been married to Jones. They had three children and divorced in 2006.[15] Piscopo is a resident of Lebanon Township, New Jersey, and has lived in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.[16][17][18]

• Official website
• The Joe Piscopo Morning Show official website (WNYM 970am New York City)
• Joe Piscopo at IMDb