I Learned I Was Related To Westchester, NY Comedian Anthony Rodia on The Radio

We're going to use the word "related" loosely.

For years, I would see hilarious videos of comedian Anthony Rodia pop up on my timeline. They were always so relatable coming from an Italian family like Rodia, I got a good laugh from his stories and impressions of family members.

What always drew me in was that Anthony Rodia has the same last name as my grandmother. Her maiden name was Rodia and when I first discovered the Italian-American comedian on Instagram I double-checked with my dad. So in my head, like most Italians, I said to myself  "We're probably cousins."

Anthony Rodia to Perform in Poughkeepsie, NY

Earlier this week, we learned that Anthony is set to come to the Hudson Valley for his Totally Relatable Tour on December 15th at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie.

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While talking about the comedy show on The Wakin' Up with CJ and Jess Show, I casually mentioned how I think I'm related to the comedian. I reached out to get Anthony on our show to get to the bottom of it.

We chatted with Anthony earlier this week and gave him a few questions that I thought might narrow down our family bloodline. We had the same typical answers like he loved his grandmother's pasta and sauce like me, and our Rodia family were both from the town of Avellino.

But what really solidified our family tree was...chestnuts.

For years, I heard the story that my family was scammed out of a Chestnut Farm, they sold it for something like $1 and were told to "get out of Italy and stay out." Very dramatic, I know.

In mentioning this to Rodia, he confirmed his family owned and worked on a Chestnut farm! I don't need 23 and Me to tell me we're family, we got the chestnuts!

Anthony Rodia will be performing live at The MJN Center in Poughkeepsie, New York on December 15th, 2023. Tickets are on sale now at RodiaComedy.com