Joe Gatto, known for the hidden camera comedy and reality show Impractical Jokers, has been touring the country and making people laugh with his tour, “Joe Gatto’s Night of Comedy” for almost two years.
“Especially the times that we’re in, people need to get out, forget the world that is around them right now… And have a good night surrounded by people who are just enjoying themselves,” Gatto said. “And I hear that from everybody that comes out. It’s been really nice to do that for people.”
Gatto will film a comedy special on March 8 at The Paramount in Huntington, his favorite venue in America and the first stop on his tour two years ago.
His last stop on the tour will be on March 24 in Redding, California.
Gatto explained that his routines mostly consist of storytelling and acting out scenarios.
“I haven’t done stand-up before this,” Gatto said. “When I performed live, it had always been with an ensemble, not myself.”
But, he enjoys telling the stories of his life, whether it was his times on Impractical Jokers, parenting, his rescue dogs and growing up in an Italian family on Staten Island.
“It’s all part of the show,” Gatto said.
At the end of 2021, Gatto announced on Instagram that he would be amicably leaving the Impractical Jokers after nine years to focus on his personal life.
Impractical Jokers, which premiered in 2011 on truTV, starred four “lifelong friends who compete to embarrass each other.” Gatto, James Murray, Brian Quinn and Sal Vulcano met while attending Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island. In 1999, Gatto, Murray and Vulcano formed a comedy group called the Tenderloins, with Quinn joining the group in 2006. They won a $100,000 grand prize on NBC’s It’s Your Show competition in 2007.
The premise of Impractical Jokers is like a game; each of them, wearing an earpiece, would follow directions from the other three who were watching from a hidden location in public. If they refused to say or do something or would laugh, they would get a “thumbs down,” and whoever had the most “thumbs down” at the end of the episode would be “punished,” often in the form of public humiliation.
“The show was always about us,” Gatto explained when asked if they ever angered members of the public during their pranks. “Making ourselves look like a fool. If we were getting people mad, we weren’t really doing our job… Sometimes we met people who weren’t in the mood for it that day. We filmed in New York City, sometimes there’s some attitude around it, but for the most part, it wasn’t that kind of show.”
As the show gained popularity, Gatto said there were times when they were recognized while out doing pranks.
“The problem would become, when we were engaging with someone, talking in a conversation in the middle of the park about whatever we were talking about, someone would come running over like ‘oh my God, Joe, can I get a selfie?’” Gatto said. “The people we were talking to, but didn’t know us, would be like, ‘Who are you?’ and I’d go, ‘I’m their dentist.’ You just have to try to deflect the best that you could.”
Since Gatto’s leave in 2021, Murray, Vulcano and Quinn have continued the show, which now often features guest stars like Bobby Moynihan and Post Malone.
Since then, life has been different but good, Gatto said.
“Still making the world laugh, which has always been my stride,” Gatto said. “I’ve been touring with my comedy show for about two years now, ‘Joe Gatto’s Night of Comedy,’ and I’ve been touring the country. It’s been so much fun to get out in front of people and make them laugh.”
He also co-hosts the podcast Two Cool Moms with Steve Byrne, where they give maternal advice to listeners, and he wrote a children’s book called Where’s Bearry? based on the true events of his son losing his stuffed animal. The book will be released on Sept. 3.
Additionally, Gatto has been advocating for causes he believes in such as the “Adopt, Don’t Shop” movement through the non-profit Gatto Pups and Friends, which he and his wife, Bessy, formed in the fall of 2022 to rescue senior and unwanted dogs. A storefront for Gatto Pups & Friends opened in Glen Head the following year.
“They are the kindest things in the world,” Gatto said. “There’s just something about a rescue dog and the way they appreciate being helped and they give back too.”
For tickets to the March 8 show at The Paramount, visit cannoliproductions.com/tour/.
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