Background and career
Joseph Anthony Gatto Jr. (born June 5, 1976) is an American improvisational comedian, actor, and producer. He is a former member of The Tenderloins, a comedy troupe consisting of lifelong friends Sal Vulcano, James Murray, and Brian Quinn. Along with the other members of the Tenderloins, Gatto starred in the comedy television series Impractical Jokers, which first aired on TruTV in December 2011.
Joseph Anthony Gatto Jr was born on June 5, 1976 in Staten Island and is of Italian descent. Gatto attended Monsignor Farrell High School. Along with Murray, Vulcano, and Quinn, he was a member of his high school's Improvisation Club. He studied at LIU Post, where he received a degree in accounting. Gatto's father died in September 1995 from pancreatic cancer.
After being apart for four years, Murray, Gatto, and Vulcano reunited after graduating from college and began practicing improvisation at Gatto's house, going on to tour as an improv and sketch comedy troupe in 1998, calling themselves the Tenderloins. The Tenderloins began producing comedy sketches together, posting them on YouTube, Myspace, and Metacafe, accumulating millions of views online. In 2007, the troupe won the $100,000 grand prize in the NBC It's Your Show competition for the sketch "Time Thugs".
Impractical Jokers premiered on December 15, 2011, on TruTV. The first season was watched by over 32 million viewers. The series quickly became the most popular program on TruTV throughout the 2010s and boosted Gatto into the public eye. Gatto and the rest of the tenderloins also began doing Impractical Jokers performances (live comedy tours) in 2012. In 2017, Gatto played Officer Larry in an episode of 12 Monkeys titled "Causality". In October 2019, Gatto, along with the other members of the Tenderloins, starred in The Misery Index, which is hosted by Jameela Jamil and is based on Andy Breckman's card game "Shit Happens". On February 21, 2020, Impractical Jokers: The Movie was released, which featured the Tenderloins. From 2020 to 2021, Gatto appeared on Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party, a spin-off of Impractical Jokers in which the Tenderloins do a video group chat while eating dinner and having guests visit one or more participants. Gatto, along with fellow members of the Tenderloins, all made cameo appearances in the 2022 film Clerks III. On December 31, 2021, Gatto announced he was amicably leaving the cast of Impractical Jokers and the Tenderloins to focus more on co-parenting his children, after a then-split with his wife. He stated: "However, due to some issues in my personal life, I have to step away. Bessy and I have decided to amicably part ways, so now I need to focus on being the best father and co-parent to our two incredible kids." The couple reconciled in September 2023. In May 2023, Gatto made a guest appearance at an Impractical Jokers performance in Boston, Massachusetts. On August 25, 2024, the Impractical Jokers wrapped up a two-year long tour in Hanover, Maryland at Live! Casino & Hotel; Gatto made a surprise appearance towards the end of the show.
The Tenderloins hosted a podcast from April 2012 to 2013. It is available on their official website and on iTunes.
Since March 1, 2022, Gatto has been co-hosting the weekly Two Cool Moms podcast, along with comedian Steve Byrne. The podcast's name derives from the two describing their mothers as "strong, opinionated mothers who gave great advice". The podcast focuses on the two giving advice to strangers who submit a problem they're facing.
