Joe Medeiros
Writer
Filmmaker
Speaker
Former headwriter for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is available to speak about his 22 years with the late-night show and his 45 years investigating the amazing 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa.
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CURRENT TALKS
MY 6-1/2 STEPS TO CREATIVE SUCCESS
How did the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911 from the Louvre in Paris help a modern day advertising copywriter from Philadelphia become the headwriter of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in Hollywood?
And then how did this late-night comedy writer become a respected expert in the Mona Lisa’s theft and make an award-winning documentary about it which has been shown on television, in theaters and in film festivals around the world -even China and Iran?
Writer/director Joe Medeiros takes us on a funny and fascinating tour of his career path which he says was less like a rocket’s flight path and more like “the maze in The Shining.” His talk is for anyone who has a creative dream and is afraid or unsure how to pursue it.
THE UNTHINKABLE THEFT OF THE MONA LISA
It's the greatest little-known art theft of all time. With the most unlikely thief. How did he do it? Why did he do it? And why wasn’t he caught by the police? Step back in time to August 21, 1911: the day the Mona Lisa vanished from the Louvre. Follow the bungled investigation that culminated in the painting’s unexpected recovery in Florence, Italy in 1913 in the hands of Vincenzo Peruggia, a poor, Italian workman who had kept the Mona Lisa to himself for nearly 1/2 years.
In his talk, Joe Medeiros, a leading expert on the theft of the Mona Lisa, will explore the trajectory of this event and how the news reached global audiences, thus making the Mona Lisa a household name.
WHAT’S SO FUNNY ABOUT THE THEFT OF THE MONA LISA?
When the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, one of the ways the world dealt with this unthinkable act was through humor. Hundreds of jokes, cartoons and illustrations were published in newspapers and magazines worldwide, making the Mona Lisa a household name. Joe Medeiros, former headwriter of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and director of the award-winning documentary "Mona Lisa Is Missing," speaks about how humor is still a byproduct of art theft today and how it helps the public make sense of the senseless taking of art.
Upcoming Events
Tue, Mar 10Vero Beach Museum of ArtMar 10, 2020, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PMVero Beach Museum of Art, 3001 Riverside Park Dr, Vero Beach, FL 32963, USA
Mon, Jan 27Marsee AuditoriumJan 27, 2020, 3:00 PM – 7:30 PMMarsee Auditorium, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance, CA 90506, USA