Tony Barbieri
Barbieri (born August 26, 1963) is an American comedic writer and performer. He is known for his appearances as the Jimmy Kimmel Live! Character "Jake Byrd",[1] and as "Walter 'Mole' Molinsky" in the Comedy Central TV movie, Windy City Heat.
Also recorded as Anthony Barbieri · Jake Byrd
Tony Barbieri

CmdrDan · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Birth Name
- Anthony J.
- Born
- 26 August 1963
- Birthplace
- Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Comedian
- Known for
- * Appearances as "Jake Byrd" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- Nationality
- United States
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Documentary summary
Barbieri (born August 26, 1963) is an American comedic writer and performer. He is known for his appearances as the Jimmy Kimmel Live! Character "Jake Byrd",[1] and as "Walter 'Mole' Molinsky" in the Comedy Central TV movie, Windy City Heat.
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Tony Barbieri (born 1963) is an actor, screenwriter and television actor, of American nationality. The actor was born in Framingham. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q4038 · wikipedia · Tony Barbieri
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — Anthony J. Barbieri • Born — 26 August 1963 • Birthplace — Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. • Occupation — * Comedian • writer • Years Active — 1988–present • Known for — * Appearances as "Jake Byrd" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! • Appearance as "Walter "Mole" Molinsky" in Windy City Heat
Career
Career
Barbieri was the writer of the monthly satirical Monroe comic strip for Mad Magazine from 1997 to 2010. In 1999, he got his first writing credit for television while working on The Man Show. Barbieri went on to write for the sitcoms That's My Bush! and That '80s Show.
The Big Three
The Big Three
Barbieri was part of a comedy team known as "The Big Three" with Perry Caravello and Don Barris In 2003, the trio starred in the Comedy Central reality movie Windy City Heat, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and written by Barris and Barbieri, and Jimmy Kimmel. The movie was an elaborate prank on Caravello who was under the impression he had landed his first starring role in a major motion picture.[2] In 2010, Caravello, Barris and Barbieri started a weekly comedy podcast called The Big 3 Podcast, on Adam Carolla's ACE Broadcasting Network.[3] In 2011 the show moved to Barris' own network,[4] before ending in April 2015.[5]
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Barbieri began writing for Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2003, and in 2004 started appearing on the show as the character Jake Byrd. Byrd is portrayed as a good-natured man obsessed with celebrities, and his bits involve him satirizing excessive media attention to celebrity spectacles such as the Michael Jackson trial or the arrest of Paris Hilton. Byrd usually interacts with the fans while they are being interviewed by the media or inserts himself into press conferences. He has successfully fooled major media outlets into thinking he is a real person, including The New York Times, who quoted him in a May 1, 2004, article about the Michael Jackson trial, before running a redact five days later noting that he was a character.[6] Despite this, the Times wrote again about him, as if he were a real person, during the 2007 O. J. Simpson robbery case.[7] On May 30, 2024, posing as a supporter of former U.S. president and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, Byrd was again quoted, as if a real person, in a Fox News article about the reactions of Trump supporters towards the former president's criminal conviction.[8] Byrd carried a sign with the words "Free Father Theresa" outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse while interacting with Trump supporters, in reference to a statement by Donald Trump comparing himself to Mother Teresa.[9][10] The words on Byrd's sign was used in the title of the Fox News article. Byrd was also filmed screaming by NBC News in their coverage of the event.[11] In his part as a parody Trump supporter, Byrd gained brief Internet notoriety as a meme on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).[12] In 2008, Barbieri won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the Jimmy Kimmel Live! song "I'm F**king Matt Damon". He was nominated for another Emmy in 2013 as part of Kimmel's writing staff for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.
Filmography
Filmography
The following list includes shows or films in which he has a small, but credited, role as a writer or actor. • Rick and Morty (2015) – (TV program) (voice actor) • Windy City Heat (2003) – (TV movie) (writer/actor) – Appeared as Walter "Mole" Molinsky. • Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003–) (talk show on ABC) – (writer/actor) – His own pieces, including his well-known character Jake Byrd. • That '80s Show (2002) (TV program) (writer) • Crank Yankers (2002–present) (TV program) (writer/voice actor) - Performed Niles Standish and the Concierge. • That's My Bush! (2001) (TV program) – (writer/actor) – A political comedy spoofing George W. Bush (appeared in one episode). • The Man Show (1999–2004) (TV program) (writer) • Delta Force: Land Warrior (2000) (video game) (voice actor) • Pledge Night (1988) (movie) – Horror film.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1963
Tony Barbieri born at Framingham.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Fake 'Jake Byrd' Crashed Bernie Rally: He's Tony Barbieri of 'Kimmel'. May 26, 2016.
- 2.What YouTube Pranksters Could Learn from 'Windy City Heat'. March 7, 2018.
- 3.The Big 3 Podcast Premiere. The Big Three Podcast. October 15, 2010.
- 4.The Big Goodbye. The Big Three Podcast. August 5, 2011.
- 5.For Real . The Final Podcast. The Big Three Podcast. April 24, 2015.
- 6.Jackson, on Time to Hearing, Pleads Not Guilty. The New York Times. May 1, 2004.
- 7.Friess, Steve. O.J. Simpson Released on Bail. New York Times. 20 September 2007.
- 8.Wallace, Danielle. 'Free Father Theresa': Trump supporters and critics sound off on Trump's guilty verdict. Fox News. 30 May 2024.
- 9.Colton, Emma. Trump vows to 'win election' as he battles charges 'Mother Teresa could not beat'. Fox News. 29 May 2024.
- 10.Allison, Natalie. Mother Teresa, kangaroo courts and a rigged case: Trump's swan song as jury begins deliberations. Politico. 29 May 2024.
- 11.Someone needs to do a wellness check on the "Free Father Teresa" guy outside the Trump courthouse. The Recount Media. 31 May 2024.
- 12.McCarthy, Bill. Image shows late-night comedian, not Trump supporter. AFP Fact Check. 1 June 2024.
References
Citations
References
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