Joy Behar Biography
Born: 19
Prolific comedienne Joy Behar may best be known to television viewers as the co-host of the popular and long-running television chat show The_View, though longtime fans know that the Brooklyn, NY, native has been making waves in the entertainment industry since her early days as a standup comic in the mid-'80s. A graduate of SUNY at Stony Brook who earned an M.A. in English and first entered the professional workforce as a teacher, Behar soon gravitated toward comedy and became a regular fixture at such popular New York clubs as Caroline's and Catch a Rising Star.
By 1989, Behar's playful sense of humor had gained her a steady following on the comedy circuit, and she was granted her own One_Night_Stand special on HBO. It was this performance, as well as bit roles in such films as the Jon_Cryer comedy Hiding_Out, the Peter_Falk action comedy Cookie, and the short-lived sitcom Baby_Boom that first served to expose the rising star to a wide audience. In 1993, Behar appeared in the Woody_Allen comedy Manhattan_Murder_Mystery, with subsequent appearances on such television talk shows as The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Tony Danza Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien -- as well as a stint hosting a popular WABC radio call-in show -- helping to prepare her for her own role as a live-television-show host on The_View.
When The_View debuted in 1997, Behar co-hosted only on days when Barbara_Walters was not present, but it didn't take long for her to become a regular member of the show (expanding the panel from four women to five) -- her likable and laid-back demeanor making her the ideal candidate to exchange banter with co-hosts such as Meredith_Vieira, Elisabeth_Hasselbeck, Lisa_Ling, Rosie O'Donnell, Star_Jones, and Whoopi_Goldberg. Nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards every year since 1998, The_View's playful mix of gossip and discussion made it a favorite amongst female television viewers -- the occasional clash between co-hosts only serving to spice things up and spike the ratings. Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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