By Mary Ann Bourbeau
ASBURY PARK – As a kid in Bethesda, Maryland, Mo Rocca remembers seeing his father read The Washington Post every day.
“He loved the obituaries,” said Rocca. “That was his favorite section.”
Rocca inherited that interest in obituaries from his father, realizing how interesting a well-written obit can be.
“They tell your life story from womb to tomb,” he said. “A good one feels like a trailer for an Oscar-winning biopic. It contains the person’s highs and lows in condensed form.”
His love of obituaries led him to create Mobituaries, an irreverent but deeply researched podcast highlighting intriguing people and things that are no longer with us. His subjects range from Audrey Hepburn and Sammy Davis Jr. to Neanderthals, our founding fathers, Siamese twins Chang and Eng, and sitcom stars who were killed off or disappeared. His first podcast was a profile of JFK impersonator Vaughn Meader, whose career as a comedian came to an abrupt end after the president’s assassination in 1963.
“I love doing profiles,” said Rocca, who has been a correspondent on “CBS Sunday Morning” for 13 years. “This is an opportunity to profile a whole lot of people who don’t have publicists.”
Rocca is taking his podcast on the road, performing the first Mobituaries Live event at The House of Independents Wednesday, Aug. 21. The show will feature a special guest, who Rocca describes as “the best obituary writer The New York Times ever had.” He will reveal the ins and outs of memorializing people, especially those with quirky lives. There will be a Q&A session and audience members may have the opportunity to have Rocca write the first line of their obituary.
“There also might be a costume or two,” he teases.
Rocca began his career as a writer and producer for the Emmy Award-winning PBS children’s series “Wishbone.” He spent four seasons as a correspondent for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and created and hosted the Cooking Channel show, “My Grandmother’s Ravioli.” He currently hosts “Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation” on CBS and is a frequent panelist on NPR’s weekly quiz show, “Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me.”
As a presidential history buff, he authored “All the Presidents’ Pets,” a historical novel about White House pets and their role in presidential decision-making. His book, “Mobituaries, Great Lives Worth Reliving,” will be released in November.
“Writing the book was a blast,” said Rocca. “I wrote a chapter on dragons. Until the mid-1700s, people actually thought dragons were real.”
The book contains a chapter about Billy Carter and other unruly presidential brothers and another about screen goddess Marlene Dietrich, who was a strong vocal opponent of the Nazis in her native Germany. He even wrote an obituary for disco (born 1970-died 1979) and another for the station wagon.
“My family had one for a couple of years,” he said. “I loved riding in the wayback, especially when my father made wide turns. It also made me feel like we had a personal connection to the Brady Bunch. I was heartbroken when we got rid of it.”
As a reporter, Rocca enjoys the task of thoroughly researching his subjects. Early in his career, he wanted to be a performer and achieved that goal when he performed in the Southeast Asian tour of “Grease.” In 2007, he had a role on Broadway in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” These days, Rocca feels fortunate to be able to combine his love of performance with his interest in journalism.
“I’m a newshound,” he said. “Mobituaries gives me the chance to tell stories and perform them too.”
So what does Rocca think the first line of his obituary might say?
“Mo Rocca, who entertained people with things they never expected to be interested in, died today. He looked like he was 39.”
Mobituaries with Mo Rocca will take place at 8 p.m. Aug. 21 at The House of Independents in Asbury Park. Tickets are $30 general admission and $95 for a VIP meet-and-greet package. For more information, visit houseofindependents.com.
Arts and entertainment reporter Mary Ann Bourbeau can be reached at mbourbeau@tworivertimes.com.
