Frank DeCaro (born November 6, 1962) is an American writer, performer and

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

host. He is best known for his work on ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

'', where he appeared as a contributor from 1996 to 2003. Starting in 2004 until 2016 he was the host of ''The Frank DeCaro Show'', a live daily radio show with producer/co-host Doria Biddle, for SIRIUS XM OutQ 106. In April 2019 his book, ''Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business'', about the history of

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

s was released by

Rizzoli Libri Rizzoli Libri, formerly Rizzoli Libri S.p.A. and RCS Libri S.p.A. is an Italian book publisher and a division of Mondadori Libri, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. RCS Libri was a former subsidiary of RCS MediaGroup, but i ...

Early life

DeCaro was born in New York City and grew up in

Little Falls, New Jersey Little Falls is a township in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township was named after a waterfall on the Passaic River at a dam near Beattie Mill. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 13,360 ...

. He graduated in 1980 from Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls, and in 1984 from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

. After graduating, DeCaro worked as a media critic writer for the

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

and later the

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...

Career

He came into the public eye with his recurring commentary ''Out at the Movies'' on ''

'', doing movie reviews, with his characteristically flamboyant gay style, from 1996 to 2003. During those years, he co-wrote and hosted five

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

preview specials for

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

. He was a panelist on a short-lived remake of the classic TV game show '' I've Got a Secret'', on GSN. A journalist whose column on classic television appears in CBS's '' Watch! Magazine'', DeCaro has written for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Arts & Leisure, Home and Styles sections. For several years, he wrote the funny-but-chic ''"Style Over Substance"'' column for that paper. His writing has appeared in myriad publications including ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', ''

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'' and ''

Martha Stewart Living ''Martha Stewart Living'' is a magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), ...

''. Beginning in 2004, he was the host of a live daily radio show with producer/co-host Doria Biddle for SIRIUS XM OutQ 106, the Frank DeCaro Show, which aired its last broadcast on February 10, 2016. He was also a frequent guest on '' The Jason Ellis Show'' on Sirius Faction. His many TV appearances include

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' Dateline'',

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

's ''

Showbiz Tonight ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show ...

'' and various programs for the

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

and Here! networks. DeCaro did a cameo role for the 2012 feature film '' BearCity 2: The Proposal''.

Books

DeCaro is the author of ''Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business'' (Rizzoli, 2019), ''The Dead Celebrity Cookbook: A Resurrection of Recipes From More Than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen'' (HCI Books, 2011), its sequel, ''The Dead Celebrity Cookbook Presents Christmas in Tinseltown: Celebrity Recipes and Hollywood Memories from Six Feet Under the Mistletoe'' (HCI, 2012), ''Unmistakably Mackie: The Fashion and Fantasy of

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon Mackie (born March 24, 1940) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of numerous entertainment personalities for television, movies, concerts, and live stage shows. He was the costume designer f ...

'' (Universe, 1999), and ''A Boy Named Phyllis: A Suburban Memoir'' (Viking 1996).

Personal life

DeCaro has been a lifelong gay rights activist and splits his time between Los Angeles and

, with his husband, James "Jim" Colucci, whom he married during the August 16, 2011, live broadcast of his Sirius radio show.

References

External links

*
"A `Crime Story`, The Pompadours And Teased Hair Say It All: The `60s Time Slot Is Worth Remembering, 'October 29, 1986, by Frank DeCaro, Detroit Free Press
*
Bear City 2 Trailer with cameo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decaro, Frank 1962 births 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians American columnists American gay writers American LGBTQ broadcasters American LGBTQ comedians American male comedians American radio personalities Comedians from New York City Comedians from Passaic County, New Jersey Detroit Free Press people The Detroit News people Gay comedians Journalists from New York City Living people Passaic Valley Regional High School alumni People from Little Falls, New Jersey Television personalities from New York City