I was always a fan of Matt LeBlanc's even before I knew his name. In 1989 I saw Matt in the CBS show, "TV 101" but then it was canceled after only one season. The show itself was alright but I did notice the one guy on the show who looked like he might be Italian. About a year later I saw this same guy on one of my favorite sitcoms of the time, "Married ... with Children". His character acted very tough and had an Italian name, Vinnie Verducci. I saw in the credits that the actor's name was Matt LeBlanc and the name has never left my mind. I watched the spinoff, "Top of the Heap" and later, "Vinnie & Bobby". The next time I recall seeing Matt was in 1993 on the very short-lived Fox drama, "Class of 1996" which was about a group of college freshmen who were living in the dorms. In one episode, Matt played a drama coach who was interviewing one of the female characters for a part in the school play. As I was watching this episode I thought to myself, "There goes Matt LeBlanc who was on the 'Married ... with Children' spinoff. It's good to see that he is still able to get work in the business".
Then in 1994 the NBC show, "Friends" became a huge hit and the cast which included Matt LeBlanc became celebrities. Everywhere you went you heard about "Friends" and the cast. Even though I watched the sitcom, I was not a big fan of Matt LeBlanc. What made me become one was when I started to go out to the nightclubs in 1995. On one night a girl told me that "I looked like Joey". I was very flattered naturally but did not see much of a resemblance. Then a month later somebody else at another club told me that "I looked like Matt LeBlanc". And the next night a bartender at the same club told me the same thing. At first I thought these were just "pick up lines". However, I gradually began to notice how others might think that I looked like Mr. LeBlanc. We both have dark hair and a strong jawline besides mediterranean facial features. The whole "You look like Matt LeBlanc" experience kept happening over and over again over the course of the three years that I was going out to the nightclubs in Cincinnati. Before I would go out with friends, I would sometimes say, "I think that I am going to get recognized (as Matt LeBlanc) tonight". I am thankful that my friends put up with my ego during this time.
I also turned into a big Matt LeBlanc fan by watching "Friends" every Thursday religiously, collecting every magazine with Matt on the cover, taping every interview on TV, and seeing all of his films in the theater. The first magazine I bought was a 1995 Y&M (Young And Modern) issue that had a picture of Matt with a brown leather jacket on the cover. I was kind of embarrassed to have to go to the register with a copy of what is a "girl's magazine". But after all the embarrassment I did not care. I had a great interview of Matt and some good pics as well. The interview talked about his recent movie, Ed where he played a baseball player on a team where the star player is a chimp and also about Matt's days struggling to make it as an actor. I even started to dress like his character, Joey Tribbiani. During the first couple of seasons Joey would wear either a long sleeve shirt and a striped t-shirt underneath or colorful sweaters. To this day, I still have shirts in my closet similar to this.
I also began to notice other things that I had in common with Matt besides physical traits. I have a similar ethnic background- Italian and French. My parents divorced when I was about nine. My mother raised me by herself while I my father was never around. I'm also pretty handy when it comes to home repair. Although I am not a master carpenter, I have fixed up several homes in my spare time. And I did study acting for a while in my early 20s. Matt seems to have been more successful at it. If I ever do become famous for whatever reason, maybe people will start to tell him that he looks me. Stranger things have happened.
Some people develope an unhealthy obssession with celebrities. But I have no desire to wait outside his house or follow him around. I don't need to know what he is doing every day or every month for that matter. Matt LeBlanc is just somebody I have come to admire. He is an ordinary guy who persevered through personal and career ups and downs and managed to achieve great success very early in life. Maybe one day I will have the chance to meet Matt and get my picture taken with him or an autograph.
I have had this dream of appearing on "Friends" as Joey Tribbiani's brother or cousin. I once created this episode where Joey discovers that he has this half-brother from his father's mistress and is very excited after growing up with a dozen sisters. Joey would be happy to finally have a biological brother to bond with. Now that "Joey" is about to premiere and the show is mostly about Joey Tribbiani's family, we might see a brother or cousin on the sitcom. I don't have a chance at any part on the new show but it would be nice to land a small appearance. I have also thought it would be cool to be Matt's body or stunt double. Instead of Matt jumping over the furniture on his sitcom, I would be the one to do the stunt and take the fall. Well, one can always dream.
When "Friends" was about to air its last episode, I looked for information about the new "Joey" show on the Internet. But I did not see any web site for either Matt LeBlanc or the new show that I found really worthy of the star. Then I decided that I would create my own web site and also a fan group so that people interested in either could discuss how they felt. I hope you enjoy my site. Most of the pictures here are from my own personal collection and others have been given to me by fellow fans. The site is growing and I will add more photos and expand upon the "Joey" section as the show starts to air.
Glenn Coppola
