Sal Iacono

Sal Iacono
Pseudonym	Cousin Sal
Birth name	Salvatore Iacono
Born	(1971-07-05) July 5, 1971 Brooklyn, New York
Nationality	American
Alma mater	SUNY Oswego Touro Law Center
Influences	Adam Carolla Jimmy Kimmel Bill Simmons
Spouse	Melissa Iacono

Salvatore Iacono (born July 5, 1971),^[1] also known as Cousin Sal, is an American comedian, writer and game show host. He is perhaps best known for his roles on The Man Show and the late night television show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He is Jimmy Kimmel's cousin, hence his nickname Cousin Sal.

Biography

Iacono was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from John Glenn High School in 1989 and attended SUNY Oswego, earning a degree in Public Justice in 1993.^[2] He went on to study law at Touro Law Center in Huntington, New York on Long Island, receiving his Juris Doctor in 1996. In 1997, Iacono moved from Long Island to Hollywood to pursue a career in television.

Career

Television Writing to Hosting

Iacono's first foray into television writing was on the Fox Sports Net program Sports Geniuses,^[1] a sports-themed game show starring Matt Vasgersian on which Sal also appeared nightly in a trivia challenge. From there, he joined the writing staff of Comedy Central's The Man Show starring Adam Carolla and Iacono's cousin Jimmy Kimmel.^[3] In 2002, Iacono joined Kimmel during his weekly prognostication sketches on Fox NFL Sunday. Iacono wrote for the puppet show Crank Yankers.^[4]

When Win Ben Stein's Money co-host Nancy Pimental left the show in 2002, Iacono replaced her, becoming Ben Stein's co-host and comic tormentor.^[5] Iacono was the co-host through the rest of the run of the series and was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Game Show Host category.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Iacono has been a permanent member of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! writing staff since 2003.^[1] He also appears frequently on the show in comedy sketches. These comedy bits are often shot using a hidden camera, and "Cousin Sal" pretends to be a store employee or delivery person who is incredibly inept or annoying. Cousin Sal's victims are invariably dumbfounded or become extremely infuriated, much to the delight of the viewing audience.^[6]

WWE

On Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 16, 2008, Iacono had a birthday cake delivered to Kimmel on air by his favorite wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper. He and Piper were confronted by Santino Marella, who had the cake thrown on him and was attacked by Iacono. The following Monday, Marella (dressed as Piper) brought Iacono to the ring on Monday Night Raw to "apologize" to "Cousin Sal". The real Piper entered the ring and Marella got his own apology cake thrown on him and on his way back to the locker room, he challenged Iacono to a wrestling match, which Piper accepted on Iacono's behalf. The match took place at the Friday Night SmackDown! tapings in Los Angeles on June 3, 2008. Sal was accompanied to the ring by Kimmel and Piper, and won the match.^[7]

Podcasts

Iacono is a regular guest on the podcast The Bill Simmons Podcast. "Cousin Sal" picks the lines for the next weeks NFL games, defends the Dallas Cowboys, and talks about sports and sports betting with Bill. In addition Sal also joined the Adam Carolla Podcast on Mondays during the 2010 NFL season to discuss the previous Sunday's NFL action.^[8]

Writing

Along with his appearances on Bill Simmons's podcast, Sal was also a regular columnist on Grantland.com, which was a sports and pop culture website formerly run by Simmons.^[9]

Personal life

Iacono currently resides near Los Angeles with his wife, Melissa, three sons, Archie, Jack, and Harrison, and the family dog, Carlos.^[10]

References

External links

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