By NICK CORASANITIFEB. 20, 2017
He found fame in the 1980s impersonating Frank Sinatra, President Ronald Reagan and countless others on “Saturday Night Live,’’ followed by numerous Hollywood gigs, stand-up routines and a drive-time radio show.
So for Joe Piscopo, the weeknight scene at a high-dollar fund-raising gala in the tuxedo-packed Starlight Roof room at the Waldorf Astoria hotel seemed perfect for a little Ol’ Blue Eyes.
But Mr. Piscopo pocketed his “New York, New York” for the night — literally, as he travels with an instrumental version of the song on his iPhone for just such occasions — opting instead to trade a Jersey-centric joke or two with Stephen Baldwin, encourage guests to donate, offer praise to the hosts and scoot offstage.
“I could have rocked that room, I really could have rocked it,” he said. “But then all of the sudden I’m the court jester and the credibility of someone who is representing the people of a state goes away.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/nyregion/joe-piscopo-new-jersey-governor.html