'Uncle Floyd' Vivino, Comedian and New Jersey TV Personality, Dies at 74
From
Big Mongo@mongo@biteme.com to
alt.obituaries on Sun Jan 25 06:12:26 2026
From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries
'Uncle Floyd' Vivino, Comedian and New Jersey TV Personality, Dies at 74
Vivino's career included references in a David Bowie song and an
appearance in 'Good Morning, Vietnam'
By Brenton Blanchet
Published on January 23, 2026 03:00PM EST
Floyd "Uncle Floyd" Vivino, the longtime New Jersey television personality whose fanbase ranged from local kids to David Bowie and John Lennon, has
died. He was 74.
Vivino's brother, musician Jerry Vivino, announced on Facebook that the TV personality died "peacefully" on Thursday, Jan. 22, following a two-and-a- half-year journey with "ongoing health issues."
"With a heavy heart I am sad to announce the passing of my brother and everybody's favorite uncle, Floyd Vivino," Jerry wrote. "Rest in peace big brother. You will be missed, but always remembered by friends, family and
your loving fans."
Floyd's official website now features an image of The Uncle Floyd Show
star, above the dates "1951-2026." His family will be holding a private funeral and will announce a celebration of life at a later date, his
brother revealed.
The comedian, born in Paterson, New Jersey, was best known for The Uncle
Floyd Show, his cult-favorite cable program that debuted in 1974 and ended
in 1998, per Deadline. The series offered childlike comedy that would also
be interpreted as a satire of kids' programming, while featuring puppetry, musical performances and even music from Vivino himself. Musical guests
over the years included Jon Bon Jovi, Tiny Tim, Cyndi Lauper and Blue
|uyster Cult.
Famous fans of Floyd included Lennon, The Ramones and Bowie, who
referenced Floyd and characters from his eponymous show in his 2002 song rCLSlip Away,rCY which included mentions of Floyd and puppets Oogie and Bones Boy.
Speaking with radio station New Jersey 101.5 in 2016, Floyd said that
Bowie first attended one of his performances in December 1980, weeks after Lennon was fatally shot. When Floyd asked Bowie how he heard about him,
Bowie replied: "John Lennon told me. He said, 'Check this show out.' "
"Because they both liked things that were off the path," Floyd, who would often wear his signature plaid attire, explained. "If they were to go for
a beer, they'd go to an old-man bar, a little corner saloon, instead of
the big popular chain. They were intrigued by realness."
When writing about the inspiration for "Slip Away" on his website in 2002, Bowie shared that rCLback in the late rCO70s, everyone that I knew would rush home at a certain point in the afternoon to catch The Uncle Floyd Show," according to NJArts.net.
"We would be on the floor it was so funny," he wrote. "Two of the regulars
on the show were Oogie and Bones Boy, ridiculous puppets made out of ping-
pong balls or somesuch rCa I just loved that show.rCY
Beyond the cult success of the show, Floyd appeared in films including
Good Morning, Vietnam and shows such as Law & Order, and would perform up
to 300 comedy shows per year, according to USAToday. In a statement shared
to Facebook, Patterson Mayor Andre Sayegh wrote that Floyd "was like
family to me."
"My mother laughed at all of his jokes and my wife thoroughly enjoyed his comedic routine," he wrote. "Sadly, one of the funniest Patersonians to
ever live has left this life. May Floyd Vivino rest in eternal peace."
Heavy metal group Hostile Rage also shared a tribute to Facebook, writing
that they were "honored and lucky enough to be a guest on his show," while actor Joe Piscopo also shared a message to social media, calling Floyd an "Italian American New Jersey Legend."
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2