Maurice Alberto “Mo” Rocca, 54, is a multi-talented CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, actor, writer, and producer. Born in Washington, D.C. and educated at Harvard University in literature, he’s also a gifted humorist. Clearly, he has a knack for trivia as well — Mo is set to appear on the final round of Celebrity Jeopardy on Tuesday, January 23. The season began with no fewer than 27 contestants and is now down to its final three. Mo will face off against actress Lisa Ann Walter and TV personality Katie Nolan for a $1 million dollar prize that will go to a charity of the winner’s choice. Mo has listed his charity as the Inner-City Scholarship Fund. “It’s helped 9,000 kids at this point,” he recently told ABC7.
Amid Mo’s big appearance as a Celebrity Jeopardy finalist, here are five fascinating facts about him.
Mo Has Enjoyed a High-Profile Career in TV
Mo clearly has a funny bone — he worked as a correspondent for The Daily Show beginning in 1998 and running through 2003. He also appeared in a similar capacity on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno between 2004 and 2008, and he currently works as a correspondent for CBS News.
Mo covered the 2008 election for NBC and worked as a correspondent from the convention floors of the Democratic and Republican national conventions for Larry King Live. Additionally, he hosts the weekly The Henry Ford Innovation Nation program.
He’s a Writer and Producer
Mo has also enjoyed a successful career behind the scenes, working as a writer and producer for the popular PBS kids series Wishbone, for ABC’s Pepper Ann, and for Nickelodeon‘s The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.
In 2012, he created the Cooking Channel’s My Grandmother’s Ravioli, which he also hosted until 2015. The show features Mo traveling across the U.S. to learn how to cook with grandparents from the safety and warmth of their own kitchens. He also regularly appeared as a judge on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America.
Mo is an Accomplished Actor
Mo has appeared in a number of dramatic roles across theater, television, and film. He appeared in the 2005 film Bewitched, as an accountant in iconic soap opera The Young and the Restless in 2014, and in season 2 of The Good Fight in 2018. On Broadway, he had a starring role as Vice Principal Douglas Panch in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
He’s an Emmy Winner
In 2011, Mo took home an Emmy Award for writing work on “special material” he did for the 64th Tony Awards broadcast. In 2016, 2019, and 2020, he was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca, and in 2015 he nabbed the honor.
Mo is an Author
Mo published his first book back in 2004, entitled All the Presidents’ Pets: The Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over. In 2019, he authored Mobituaries, which pulled from the success of his podcast of the same name.