Joey Diaz

Joey "CoCo" Diaz is a Cuban-American stand up comedian. He is an actor known for his recurring role as Joey on the TV series My Name is Earl, as well as in movies such as The Longest Yard and Taxi.

Early life

José Antonio Diaz grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey. After losing his mother and father, Joey was taken in by a series of North Bergen families, including two police officers named Robert Bender and Carmine Balzano. Frequent run-ins with the law, including his involvement in fights, kept him moving among a total of four families. Diaz says a total of 20 Italian and Irish families attempted to assist him, such as local funeral home owner Anthony Vanieri. Diaz explains that their sense of humor greatly influenced his own career, which had its earliest beginnings as a student in North Bergen High School.

Career

Diaz left North Bergen for the University of Colorado at Boulder on June 1, 1985, however, his academic life was interrupted by a short stint in prison. After his release, Joey sold Subarus and embarked on his long stand-up career, signing-up for local open mics. Expanding his talent, Diaz moved to Seattle, and continued performing in front of open mic audiences. In 1996 he moved to Los Angeles. After his career spread to other venues, he accepted an offer from a CBS talent scout to work on a television pilot. Although the series was not purchased, the visibility it gave him helped his career, garnering him appearances on the television show Law & Order and in films including Spider-Man 2 and the 2004 film Taxi. His most visible role was in the 2005 film The Longest Yard and as a prison convict named Joey the Candy Bar Criminal, a part he played in four 2007 episodes of My Name is Earl, and which he obtained on the basis of his own past in prison. That same year he also appeared as "Joey Karate", doing humorous promotions for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in California, clips of which can be found on YouTube.

In-joke

An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke whose humour is understandable only to members of an ingroup, that is, people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It is an esoteric joke that is humorous only to those who are aware of the circumstances behind it.

In-jokes may exist within a small social clique, such as a group of mates, or extend to an entire profession such as the film or professional wrestling industries, or a particular sporting field or chess team. Ethnic or religious groups usually have their own in-jokes.

Philosophy

In-jokes are cryptic allusions to shared common ground that act as triggers; only those who have shared the common ground provide an appropriate response. An in-joke works to build community, sometimes at the expense of outsiders. Part of the power of an in-joke is that its audience knows that there are those who do not understand the joke.

An in-joke can also be used as a subtext, where people in the know may find humour with something not explicitly spoken. They may even apologise for doing so to a rookie, directly or indirectly stating that what they were laughing themselves hoarse at was an in-joke.