JOE PISCOPO GUEST-STARS AS A MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE STAR IN NBC'S 'LAW & ORDER' WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 10PM ET

NEW YORK -- November 15, 2004 -- Joe Piscopo ("Wise Guys" "Saturday Night Live") guest-stars as a martial arts movie star in the "Cry Wolf" episode of NBC's "Law & Order" on Wednesday, November 17 (10-11 p.m. ET).

In this episode, a street thug-turned-radio personality (guest star Jose Zuniga) who had a penchant for attracting headlines through "publicity stunt muggings" is thought to be faking again when he's shot and almost killed. However, when other bodies start to stack up, Detectives Fontana (Dennis Farina) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) now must believe the danger is for real." Sam Waterston, Elisabeth Rohm, Fred Dalton Thompson and S. Epatha Merkerson also star.

In speaking about his appearance, Piscopo stated, "My character is a martial arts movie star that gets in with the wrong people. One bad thing leads to the next and he tries to get away with it, but you can't do it with Dennis Farina and Jesse Martin around."

Piscopo appeared in "The Joe Piscopo Special" for which he received a Cable ACE Award for Outstanding Performance. He also starred in ABC's "New Jersey Special," HBO series "Arli$$" and guest-starred previously on NBC's "Law & Order." His voice was heard on the Nickelodeon comedy series, "The 1000 Deeds of Eddie McDowd" and as Santa Claus in the ABC special, "Dear Santa."

His film credits include "Wise Guys," "Johnny Dangerously," "Dead Heat," "Sidekicks," "Two Bits & Pepper," "Demolition Day," "The Last Request" and "Bartleby."

Piscopo starred on Broadway as disc jockey Vince Fontaine in "Grease."

"Law & Order" is a Wolf Films production in association with NBC Universal Television Studio. Dick Wolf is creator and executive producer; Matthew Penn, Eric Overmyer, Peter Jankowski and Roz Weinman are executive producers.