Mo Rocca
Television & Radio Personality
Exclusive Representation by Greater Talent Network
Mo Rocca--contributor to NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and CBS' "Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood"--is known for his off-beat news reports and satirical commentary. A former correspondent for Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," he can be heard regularly on NPR's hit weekly quiz show "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me" as well as "All Things Considered." Ceator and host of AOL's "Mo Rocca 180°" (www.morocca180.com), Rocca's blog provides side-splitting and insightful observations on everything from the Presidential election to pop culture news.
"I'd rather call myself a mischief-maker--an 'imp'--rather than a satirist. 'Satirist' sounds so self-important. Plus, no one else is calling himself an imp right now. It makes me feel special."
Rocca's book, "All the Presidents' Pets: The Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over," is a tour-de-force of investigative journalism that blows the lid off of a long-held Washington secret: Presidential pets are more than just photo-ops. Equal parts "All the President's Men," "Charlotte's Web" and "The Da Vinci Code," "Pets" is the journalistic watershed event of the decade. Really.
"German shepards [John Kerry's 'Cym'] were the fourth most-popular breed last year; the Scottish Terrier [President Bush's 'Barney'] is the 44th most-popular breed--not that the popular vote really matters."
The former president of Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Rocca is no stranger to the stage, where his credits include the role of Vice Principal Douglas Panch in Broadway's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," and "Doody" on the Southeast Asia Tour of "Grease."
"Too many Americans are lazy when it comes to studying low-brow culture. I've given all these shows--'Punky Brewster,' 'Webster'--the thought they deserve."
Rocca began his career in TV as a writer and producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning PBS children's series "Wishbone." He went on to write and produce for other kids series, including ABC's "Pepper Ann" and Nickelodeon's "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss"--a pre-school series combining the whimsy of Seuss characters with the magic of Jim Henson puppetry.
"I know a lot about a few things--mostly useless things."
Rocca also served as consulting editor at the adult men's magazine "Perfect 10." Doing "pre-school by day and porn by night" helped prepare him for the broad range of topics he'd tackle on "The Daily Show," where his eccentric profiles ranged from a man obsessed with first ladies to the point that he dresses as Florence (Warren) Harding, to a husband/wife pet-mummification team.
Rocca's latest TV role is interviewing celebrities for the "5 Minutes With" segment on WNBC's "1st Look New York." Rocca is a frequent guest on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" (MSNBC) and "Larry King Live" (CNN) and a judge on "Iron Chef America" (Food Network). He was a regular on the VH1 retrospective "I Love the..." series and served as host of "Things I Hate About You" (Bravo) and "Whoa! Sunday with Mo Rocca" (Animal Planet). He once played the role of Turista #2 on telenovela Amor Descarado (Telemundo).
"I've been on Telemundo 'cause I'm half-Colombian. I have not been on BET, but that's just because I'm especially pale right now."
AT A GLANCE: A native of Washington, D.C., Mo Rocca earned a bachelor's degree at Harvard and resides in New York City. He is famed for his wacky, tongue-in-cheek "fake news" reports.
Interested in booking Mo Rocca to speak at your next event?
"I'd rather call myself a mischief-maker--an 'imp'--rather than a satirist. 'Satirist' sounds so self-important. Plus, no one else is calling himself an imp right now. It makes me feel special."
Rocca's book, "All the Presidents' Pets: The Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over," is a tour-de-force of investigative journalism that blows the lid off of a long-held Washington secret: Presidential pets are more than just photo-ops. Equal parts "All the President's Men," "Charlotte's Web" and "The Da Vinci Code," "Pets" is the journalistic watershed event of the decade. Really.
"German shepards [John Kerry's 'Cym'] were the fourth most-popular breed last year; the Scottish Terrier [President Bush's 'Barney'] is the 44th most-popular breed--not that the popular vote really matters."
The former president of Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Rocca is no stranger to the stage, where his credits include the role of Vice Principal Douglas Panch in Broadway's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," and "Doody" on the Southeast Asia Tour of "Grease."
"Too many Americans are lazy when it comes to studying low-brow culture. I've given all these shows--'Punky Brewster,' 'Webster'--the thought they deserve."
Rocca began his career in TV as a writer and producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning PBS children's series "Wishbone." He went on to write and produce for other kids series, including ABC's "Pepper Ann" and Nickelodeon's "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss"--a pre-school series combining the whimsy of Seuss characters with the magic of Jim Henson puppetry.
"I know a lot about a few things--mostly useless things."
Rocca also served as consulting editor at the adult men's magazine "Perfect 10." Doing "pre-school by day and porn by night" helped prepare him for the broad range of topics he'd tackle on "The Daily Show," where his eccentric profiles ranged from a man obsessed with first ladies to the point that he dresses as Florence (Warren) Harding, to a husband/wife pet-mummification team.
Rocca's latest TV role is interviewing celebrities for the "5 Minutes With" segment on WNBC's "1st Look New York." Rocca is a frequent guest on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" (MSNBC) and "Larry King Live" (CNN) and a judge on "Iron Chef America" (Food Network). He was a regular on the VH1 retrospective "I Love the..." series and served as host of "Things I Hate About You" (Bravo) and "Whoa! Sunday with Mo Rocca" (Animal Planet). He once played the role of Turista #2 on telenovela Amor Descarado (Telemundo).
"I've been on Telemundo 'cause I'm half-Colombian. I have not been on BET, but that's just because I'm especially pale right now."
AT A GLANCE: A native of Washington, D.C., Mo Rocca earned a bachelor's degree at Harvard and resides in New York City. He is famed for his wacky, tongue-in-cheek "fake news" reports.
Interested in booking Mo Rocca to speak at your next event?
Contact Greater Talent Network,
America's Leading Celebrity Speakers Bureau.
212.645.4200
info@greatertalent.com
- "Fake" News vs. "Real" News: Just how fine is the line? And would Mo cover Baghdad?
- "Pre-school to Porn": The credentials that prepped Mo for his acclaimed tenure on "The Daily Show"
- "All the Presidents' Pets": One reporter who refused to roll over
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