Mo Rocca

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mo Rocca on the set of The Daily Show.

Mo Rocca (born Maurice Alberto Rocca on January 28, 1969 in Washington, DC) is an American writer, comedian, and political satirist.

Rocca 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. He served as president of Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals. Later, he worked as a writer and producer for the children's television series Wishbone (1995), The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (1996) and Pepper Ann (1997), and also as a consulting editor to the men's magazine Perfect 10. Rocca is best known for his work as a correspondent from 1998 to 2003 on Comedy Central's popular satirical news program, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Rocca is a regular panelist on NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and is a celebrity commentator on VH1's I Love... shows: I Love the 80s, I Love the 70s, I Love the 70s Volume 2, I Love the 80s Strikes Back, I Love the 80s 3-D, I Love the 90s, I Love the 90s: Part Deux, I Love Toys, and I Love the Holidays. The series officially stated his occupation as "media gadfly" for one of its incarnations, and noted his physical resemblance to the children's book character Waldo in another. He was the host of Things I Hate About You on Bravo. Rocca is also a regular correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has been a celebrity judge on the Food Network's Iron Chef America.

Rocca was an on-the-floor correspondent for Larry King on CNN at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which he called an "Obamarama." Though occasionally making straight insights and political comments, Rocca's irrelevant and irreverent statements were a humorous contrast to King's more staid politician and pundit guests. Rocca characterized Teresa Heinz Kerry as the "Siren of the Serengeti," and expressed affinity with the statement by keynote speaker, Barack Obama, about the pains of growing up as a skinny boy with a funny name. During his report to King from the convention floor alongside the Pennsylvania delegates, he exclaimed "Everybody's talking Teresa, Teresa, Teresa!" Rocca spent a good deal of his time with the Convention delegates from American Samoa. He returned as a correspondent for the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Rocca is the author of the All the Presidents' Pets: The Inside Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over.

He currently hosts Whoa! Sunday which premiered in 2005 on Animal Planet, and has been on the tasting panel for three of Food Network's Iron Chef America battles. He has recently begun satirical commentary on CBS News Sunday Morning.

Rocca is a contributor to the Huffington Post.

Rocca now hosts "The Mo Rocca Show" on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Rocca also contributes to AOL Newsbloggers[1].

Starting April 17, Rocca will play the role of Vice Principal Douglas Panch in the Broadway production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.