Though he’s been a writer/performer at Jimmy Kimmel Live! since its 2003 debut, Tony Barbieri’s history with Jimmy Kimmel himself stretches back even further—to public access TV, when Kimmel volunteered to serve as announcer on a scrappy prank show Barbieri made with his friends Don Barris and Perry Caravello. From there came The Man Show, and eventually more than two decades inside ABC’s late-night mainstay.
This week on LateNighter’s Inside Late Night podcast, Barbieri joins Mark Malkoff to trace the evolution of Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its early “Wild West” days—when Kimmel’s office was literally inside the green room—to the more politically charged show it is today.
The conversation also dives into Barbieri’s long-running on-air alter ego Jake Byrd, who shows up at public events as the biggest superfan/defender of the seemingly indefensible. Over the years that’s meant backing Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson during their respective trials, and trailing the likes of Herschel Walker, Roy Moore, and Sarah Palin on the political trail—embedding himself with their actual supporters and pushing each moment just far enough to make the crowd squirm.
Barbieri also reflects on working with JKL guest hosts like Martin Short, meeting heroes like Don Rickles and Mel Brooks, and why Kimmel remains, in his words, “irreplaceable.”
Click the embed above to listen to Tony Barbieri’s full conversation with Mark Malkoff now, or find Inside Late Night on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
