How sad. What a great show that was!!! One of the best things on TV in the late-seventies, early-eighties. The musical parodies were hilarious. I had the pleasure of seeing it live when they took the show on the road during the mid-to-late eighties. Rest in Peace Mugsy.
Never heard of the Uncle Floyd Show. Was it local.
I loved the show. Sad to see Mugsy passed away.
Floyd is perhaps the most unlucky performer in showbiz history. A man of IMMENSE talent (musical, comedic, etc.) and charm, he never got the break or fame he deserved. The anarchic humor of the old show blows anything away, save the classic SNL of the same period.
His one break was botched so badly. NBC gave the show a late night tryout for about a month in 1982(?), but he had to change it to fit a national audience and a lot of the low-budget local charm was lost. It just wasn't right, and Floyd fans would be the first to say so. NBC didn't let it build any audience long enough for people to get the in-jokes, and it died.
Worst of all, most of the tapes of the old classic show were thrown out, erased, or taped over for budgetery reasons! Precious little exists, denying Floyd a chance to make a living off it or claim his place in comedy history.
Another big insult was the success of "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" in the '80's, which was a COMPLETE rip-off of Floyd's show, down to the exact same puppets, props and characters.
And then there was the time Joe Franklin sued Floyd for his 'Joe Frankfurter' sketch....
And Floyd's roles in "Good Morning Vietnam" and "One Trick Pony" which ended up on the cutting room floor.
Floyd's now heard mostly as an Italian-language radio host in NY. His brother Jimmy Vivino is a famous guitarist, I believe he's on Conan O'Brien nightly.
Incidentally, we had an 80th birthday party for my father a few years ago, and my aunt hired a suprise special guest star to tell a few jokes. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that the entertainment was Uncle Floyd!
Here's to Mugsy!
Here's to Mugsy!!!
Three cheers for Mugsy!