Mo Rocca
| Mo Rocca | |
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 Mo Rocca in 2008 |
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| Pseudonym | Mo Rocca |
| Birth name | Maurice Alberto Rocca |
| Born | January 28, 1969 Washington, DC U.S. |
| Medium | Television, Radio, Blog |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Genres | Political satire |
| Notable works and roles | The Daily Show The Tonight Show Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! CBS News Sunday Morning |
Maurice Alberto "Mo" Rocca (born January 28, 1969) is an American writer, journalist, comedian and political satirist.
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[edit] Early life and work
Rocca was born in Washington, DC, of Colombian (mother) and Italian (father) descent. He attended Georgetown Preparatory School, the Jesuit boys school in North Bethesda, Maryland, and later went on to graduate from Harvard University in 1991 with a B.A. in literature.[1] He served as president of Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, performing in four of the company's notorious burlesques and even co-authoring one (Suede Expectations).[2] He is openly gay.[3][4]
[edit] Career
[edit] Writing and Producing
Rocca began his career acting on stage in the Southeast Asia tour of the musical Grease (1993) and Paper Mill Playhouse's South Pacific (1994). His first television work was as a writer and producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award winning children's television series Wishbone. He also wrote for The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss on Nickelodeon and ABC's Pepper Ann.
He served as a consulting editor to the men's magazine Perfect 10.[5]
[edit] Satire and Journalism
Rocca was a regular contributor to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1998 to 2003. His work included campaign coverage for Indecision 2000 and a regular feature entitled "That's Quite Interesting." [6]
In 2004 he served as a convention floor correspondent for Larry King at both major party political conventions.
He was a regular correspondent for NBC's The Tonight Show from 2004 to 2008, recently providing 2008 election coverage, as well as for MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
Rocca is a regular correspondent to CBS News Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. His work includes commentaries on politics and pop culture, cover stories, features and profiles (Loretta Lynn, Natalie Portman). He states, “I loved doing television field pieces and I’ve done a lot of them. If you combine ‘The Daily Show’ with ‘The Tonight Show’ with my gig on ‘Sunday Morning,’ I see them all as part of one continuum in a way. Three- to six-minute stories with my point of view... and participating in one degree or another in the story … I love doing that.” [7]
Rocca is a regular panelist on the National Public Radio game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
In 2011, Rocca has done some straight reporting features for various CBS programs, including The Early Show and the CBS Evening News. In 2012, he has become a regular contributor to the new "CBS This Morning".
[edit] Author
Rocca's satirical novel All the Presidents' Pets: The Story of One Reporter who Refused to Roll Over, described as a blend of All the President's Men, The DaVinci Code and Charlotte's Web, was published by Crown Books in 2004.[8]
[edit] Food and Other Television
Rocca hosts Food(ography) on the Cooking Channel cable network.
He was a regular judge on the Food Network's Iron Chef America.[9]
Rocca was a commentator on VH1's I Love the '70s and I Love the '80s specials. He was the host of Things I Hate About You on Bravo and was the host of Whoa! Sunday which premiered in 2005 on Animal Planet. He also made a guest appearance on Law and Order: SVU, Authority.
[edit] Broadway
On Broadway, Rocca played the role of Vice Principal Douglas Panch in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
[edit] Film and Other Media
Rocca appeared in the 2005 film Bewitched. In 2007, he appeared with fellow Daily Show alum Ed Helms in the indie family sci-fi comedy I'll Believe You.
Rocca contributed to AOL Newsbloggers.[10] His blog was titled Mo Rocca 180°: Only Half as Tedious as the Regular News.
[edit] References
- ^ Mo Rocca, Celebrity College Flashback, US News
- ^ Mo Rocca: from TV-loving tyke to mass-media personality
- ^ Kennedy, Ed (July 28, 2011). "Morning Meme: Dan Savage Calls Out Rick Santorum, "Glee" Needs Robots, and Tom Felton Talks Slashfic". AfterElton. http://www.afterelton.com/meme-07-28-2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ^ "Back Sweat Index". The Six Pack. http://sixpackage.com/post/8132535034/73-back-sweat-index. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ^ Politics and Humor With Mo Rocca Washington Post Chat
- ^ Mo Rocca page on Comedy Central
- ^ Mo Rocca: from TV-loving tyke to mass-media personality
- ^ Mo Rocca Takes Satire To A Presidential Level
- ^ Mo Rocca on Internet Movie Database
- ^ Mo Rocca 180°: Only Half as Tedious as the Regular News
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mo Rocca |
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- 1969 births
- Living people
- American comedians
- American people of Colombian descent
- American people of Italian descent
- American satirists
- American television personalities
- Harvard University alumni
- LGBT comedians from the United States
- LGBT radio personalities from the United States
- LGBT television personalities from the United States
- People from Washington, D.C.
- The Daily Show correspondents and contributors
