Joy (Occhiuto) Behar- Co Host of "The View" - 25 yr Comedian

Joy Behar, who’s known best for her work on the ABC morning gabfest "The View", where for the past 11 years she’s been showing off the acerbic wit, that got her start in comedy but not until her late 30s, after working as a high school English teacher. Behar like most comics, feel the need to keep at least one foot in the game, and continues to perform. She joked, Even Jerry Seinfeld does, who’s the richest man on the planet". Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar (née Occhiuto; born October 7, 1943) Italian American, was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York; the daughter of Rose, a seamstress, and Gino Occhiuto, a truck driver.She was married to Joe Behar in January 1965 and divorced him in 1981; they had one daughter, Eve. Behar nearly died from an ectopic pregnancy in 1979.Behar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Queens College, and a Master of Arts degree in English Education from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is a former teacher at Lindenhurst High School on Long Island

Scranton Cultural Center Plays Host to Comedian, ‘View’ host on Jan. 25
Scranton Times-Tribune - PA, USA
By Josh McAuliffe Staff Writer
January 18, 2008

Joy Behar wouldn’t refer to standup comedy as her love. That’s too cutesy a word to describe what can often be a rough and tumble line of work, she said.
“It’s like a passion more than a love,” she said during a recent phone interview. “It’s a lust.”
Whatever it is, it seems to be working just fine for Ms. Behar, who’s known best for her work on the ABC morning gabfest “The View,” where for the past 11 years she’s been showing off the acerbic wit she spent years perfecting in smoky comedy clubs around the country.
On Jan. 25, she’ll be taking her act to Scranton Cultural Center at The Masonic Temple. There, fans can expect a bit of “View” dish, plus an ample dose of political commentary and anecdotes from her life.
Life is good at “The View” these days, Ms. Behar said. Ratings are up at “The View” since Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd came on board, and the show’s vibe has been much more amiable since Rosie O’Donnell’s short but controversial tenure came to an end last May.
“It’s a very mellow feeling. No tension at all,” said Ms. Behar, who still keeps in touch with her old standup pal Ms. O’Donnell through e-mail. “I don’t feel any of it this year.”
Fitting in
She said Ms. Goldberg and Ms. Shepherd have proven to be naturals at “The View’s” chatty, off-the-cuff format, which she attributes in part to the both having backgrounds in standup.
“They figured out that comedians are good on the show,” she said. “I like Sherri and Whoopi very much.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Behar’s pal Elisabeth Hasselbeck recently returned to the Barbara Walters-produced show after a few months of maternity leave, opening the gates again for some spirited political debate between the liberal Ms. Behar and the conservative Mrs. Hasselbeck.
“I like having her back,” Ms. Behar said. “When I talk politics, I don’t want to preach to the converted.”
For how well known she’s become through her association with “The View,” Ms. Behar said she’s under the impression that a lot of her fans have no idea she’s a comic.
“I have 25 years of it, which is a long time,” she said.
Now is a particularly fruitful time for her act, with a good dozen or so engagements on the horizon, which is a lot when placed on top of the five “View” tapings she does a week, she said.
“I’m very into my standup right now,” she said, noting most comics by and large need to keep at least one foot in the game. “Even Jerry Seinfeld, who’s the richest man on the planet,” she joked.
“As a comedian friend of mine said years ago, it’s my oxygen,” she said. “You’re just out there on your own. It’s stressful. It’s rewarding.”
The Brooklyn native didn’t get into comedy until her late 30s, after working as a high school English teacher, a receptionist at “Good Morning America” and the host of a radio call-in show, the latter two of which ended with her firing.
“Standup came from me being funny as a teacher, in the teachers’ room mostly,” she said. “I thought, I want to make some money at this.”
However, being funny with friends and being funny up on stage in front of a roomful of strangers are completely different things.
“It’s a whole other ball game,” she said. “It’s like the difference between strumming on a guitar at a hootenanny and playing with Eric Clapton.”
Beginner’s luck
Surprisingly, the first time Ms. Behar got up on stage, she killed. The second time, however, “I died like a dog,” despite doing the same exact material. What she didn’t realize at the time was that the two sets were done under different circumstances and for two totally different audiences.
“It took six months to get back on (stage),” said Ms. Behar, noting she only kept doing it because she was broke and a single parent. “I was a very tentative starter. Because I would remember the bad, and not the good.”
Eventually, everything came together, and Ms. Behar had an act she could add to and subtract from over time. For next week’s Cultural Center show, topics will include life at “The View” and politics, including her well-known disdain for George W. Bush (“No one cares about him anymore,” she said.) and affinity for Hillary Clinton (“I get a little testy when they talk about my girlfriend”).
There might even be some local flavor interspersed through the set. As a young girl, Ms. Behar occasionally visited Wilkes-Barre, where relatives of hers lived.
“In Scranton, there’s a lot of Italian Americans, right?” said Ms. Behar, herself an Italian American. “So I might talk about that.”
There’s really no shortage of things Ms. Behar can talk about, because even when she’s not doing her act, it’s continually evolving in her head.
“It keeps your mind occupied at all times,” she said. “That’s how comedians see their standup.”
In other words, the lust is as strong as it ever was.
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