We are listing Sebastian Maniscalco not because he is a friend, but because he is Italian and a true Italian. Sebastian was born on July 8, 1973, in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois, to Italian immigrants; his father Salvatore Maniscalco, who worked as a hairstylist, immigrated to the United States with his family from Cefalù, Sicily, at the age of 15. His mother Rose Maniscalco was a secretary, and her family has origins in Naples, Campania and Sicily. Maniscalco is a Roman Catholic, and at eight years old, he was an altar boy at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in suburban Mount Prospect, Illinois. He is an alum of Rolling Meadows High School. He graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1995, where he was the president of the Sigma Pi fraternity chapter, with a degree in communication studies. After moving to Los Angeles in 1998, Maniscalco performed at open mics in bars and bowling alleys while working as a waiter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where he worked from 1998 to 2005.

In 2005, he began performing regularly at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California. Maniscalco cites Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Brian Regan, John Ritter, Johnny Carson, Andrew Dice Clay, Bill Burr, and Don Rickles as comedic influences. Since then, he has done a half-hour for Comedy Central Presents and five hour-long specials. His first special, Sebastian Live, was released on June 2, 2009. His next three specials were aired on Showtime, with What’s Wrong with People? released on January 5, 2012, Aren’t You Embarrassed?, taped in Chicago, released on November 14, 2014, and Why Would You Do That?, taped in New York City and released in 2016.

Maniscalco was one of four comedians featured in Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland. He wants to tour Australia, Eurobis Entertainment is in discussion