Former teacher and current talk show hostess Joy Behar.
Success in the classroom often leads to success in other fields requiring performance in front of an audience. One former educator who proves this to be true is comedienne, actress, and talk show hostess Joy Behar.
Joy was born Josephine Victoria Occhiuto on October 7, 1942, in Williamsburg in the Brooklyn area of New York. Her mother earned a living as a seamstress and her father worked as a truck driver. Joy earned her Bachelor’s degree from Queens College in 1964, and her Master’s in English Education from State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1966.
After her college graduation, Joy accepted a position as an English teacher at Lindenhurst Senior High School in Long Island, New York. She worked there for five years.
At the age of about 40, Joy decided to leave her classroom to pursue a career as a stand-up comic. By 1996 she had established herself as a comedienne, playing all the major venues. She also hosted a talk show on WABC-Radio. She has appeared in several movies: Cookie, This Is My Life, and Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery. In addition, she authored a book of humorous essays and stories called Joy Shtick — Or What is the Existential Vacuum and Does It Come with Attachments? She also wrote two children’s books about a dog named Sheetzucacapoopoo. But the former teacher is probably best known for her appearances on the daily talk show The View. She was hired for the program in 1997 after show creator Barbara Walters saw her perform at Milton Berle’s 89th birthday tribute.
Joy still has connections to the classroom. She is married to Steven Janowitz, a retired junior high school math teacher. And she sometimes is accused of treating her guests on The View as if she were their teacher. “Someone once told me I’m still teaching, only now I have a bigger classroom,” she once joked.
To read more about Joy Behar, click on ABC The View Co-Hosts
