Topic: Joe Piscopo

Joseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo (pronounced PIS-ka-po) (born June 17, 1951) is an American comedian and actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Piscopo attended West Essex High School and was a member of the drama club "the Masquers". He developed a reputation for never playing a part the way it was written. When he was not clowning around he could usually be found lifting weights with his cousins Paul LaMagna and Bill Dolphin (Scarecrow). Although his mother wanted him to follow in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer, 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.

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.