John Di Domenico – Finding his voice through impressions

John Di Domenico (East Stroudsburg) made a 35-year career out of being a man of many personalities, performing his world-class celebrity impressions on stage, screen, radio, and at special events. He recently wowed and entertained Pilam brothers with his impressions of Austin Powers, Ben Franklin, Guy Fieri, and Donald Trump in videos celebrating the 130th anniversary of Pi Lambda Phi.

View playlist of Pilam 130th anniversary videos

Overcoming a speech impediment by speaking up

When John was just five years-old, he had a speech impediment that made him very self-conscious. He said, “neighborhood kids said I sounded like Elmer Fudd.” But ironically, he found an unlikely path to helping his speech. 

Through his love for television and celebrity entertainers, he started doing impressions of Ed Sullivan for his neighbors. He expanded his impressions to include screen legends Humprey Bogart, James Cagney, and Jimmy Stewart saying, “The neighbors loved it.”

Though he would spend years in speech therapy, his breakthrough really came from doing what he loved — performing impressions. He said, “When I did impressions, the voice impediment disappeared and it gave me courage.” It turned out to be a revelation for John. 

Navigating the entertainment world

John started his career doing various stage acting gigs and stand-up comedy in the 90s. Like many stand-ups, John struggled with the constant travel and ups and downs of stand-up comedy and admitted, “I hated it.”

But he stuck with his love to entertain by returning to his roots of performing impressions, getting his first corporate job in 1996. That led him to develop more characters that he thought would play well in a corporate market.

He focused on well-known characters with big personalities, mimicking their behaviors and buzz words, and customizing his performances for his audiences.

Over time, he created a portfolio of celebrity impressions requiring elaborate make-up work that transformed him into: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Guy Fieri, Donald Trump, Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Lasso, Dr. Phil, and Jay Leno, among others.

Getting discovered

He said, “In 2004 due to the success of The Apprentice, I was one of the first people who did a full-on Donald Trump impersonation with wig, wardrobe, etc. It was long before he ran for president.”  

John said, “In 2006, I got a call from Fox and Friends to stand in for Trump and did three segments with them. In 2015 after years of perfecting my Trump impersonation, one of the writers of the Conan O’Brien Show saw my Trump impersonation on Fox News Red Eye where I was a regular. Conan’s team invited me to appear on the show. It was a big break for me, that turned into fifty appearances over five years. 

It also led to repeat invitations to perform live on: The Howard Stern Show, The View, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and many other popular programs. He even played Trump in the comedy, Meet the Spartans.

All of that exposure propelled John to next-level popularity. He now has 5.8 million TikTok followers and 24 million YouTube views. 

Using his voice to help others

After overcoming his struggles with speech, John became an advocate to teach others how to become more effective and articulate communicators. He actually received his degree from Temple in Speech Communications.

He said, “I want to help people find their full potential with their voice.”  John often presents his perspective at corporate events, teaching projection and articulation techniques, while entertaining audiences with his many voices.

Finding his people at Pi Lambda Phi

John found “his people” at Pilam. ESU is a relatively small state school, and a few of his high school friends joined Pilam (at the time it was a BEZ chapter). He described the brothers as, “nuts and bolts kind of guys. I knew it was my only time to bond with these guys. I was in it for the fellowship.” 

He said, “I’m still friends with my Pilam brothers. That has real meaning. Life is about the people you surround yourself with.” 

The Johnny D Show

If you’d like to inquire about John Di Domenico as an impressionist, event emcee, or keynote speaker, visit his website.