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At first take,
Joseph Manno may seem like a wacky, off-the-wall, comedian. But
spend a little time listening to his background and you’ll uncover
his steadfast will to reach impressionable children and the inspirational
tale he commits to spreading around the country.
Manno began his career in the entertainment industry in 1983, appearing
in motion pictures such as The Calendar Girl Murders, For the Love
of the Soldier, The Aviator, Night Screams, Doing
Time and Perfect. He has also made numerous television
appearances on shows including Trapper John, M.D. and Cagney
and Lacy.
Early in his career, Manno realized many of the characters he portrayed
had a negative impact on children. Consequently, he decided to dedicate
his talents to steering young children onto the right paths in life.
He made a pact with himself to stay away from corrupt material and to
only be involved with positive projects.
In 1989, Manno created a stage show for children entitled, “A
Fighting Chance.” This live performance encourages children to
take the right roads in life by staying away from drugs, gangs
and violence. The show has received endorsements from teachers across
America, two of Florida's governors, including Jeb Bush, the mayor of
Orlando, and former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.
In 1990, Manno and a partner began touring some of Los Angeles’ biggest
comedy clubs performing a stand-up act entitled, “A Tribute to
Martin and Lewis.” The team performed a clean Martin and Lewis-style
routine in famous clubs such as The Comedy Store, The Improv, L.A. Cabaret,
Matty's on Melrose and many more. These performances led to an award
in 1994 from America’s Funniest People.
“A Fighting Chance” expanded in 2002, creating
a live arena show for children and a book series and magazine were
also created. Since then, the show has been performed at live events
for more than 250,000 public school children across the nation.
In 2004, Manno created, wrote and starred in a local CBS After-School
Special, “ALL IN ONE,” and won an Emmy.
A Fighting Chance was released as a comedic children’s
novel and became a popular reading tool for public schools. There are
currently more than 80,000 copies in circulation and the book is now
in its fourth series. RTC Entertainment hands out free copies of the
book to all children that attend the live performances.
Manno aims to make each show individualized for the audience and entertaining
for all ages. Groups aged 5 to 95 appreciate his unique style of comedy.
He delivers his messages and leaves each person knowing they can make
a difference in their life and in the lives of others.
Reaching
The Children (RTC) Entertainment, Inc. is a Not-for-profit
501(c)3 entertainment company for families, co-founded in 1997 by
Joe Manno and Anthony DeRosa. |
