| Uncle Floyd Vivino | |
|---|---|
| Born | Floyd Vivino October 19, 1951 Paterson, New Jersey, United States |
| Occupation | Television, Film, and Stage Actor |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Awards | Guiness Book of World Records - longest time playing a piano |
| Website | |
| http://www.UncleFloyd.net | |
Floyd Vivino aka "Uncle Floyd" (born October 19, 1951) is a television, film, and stage performer primarily known for his comedy/variety TV show The Uncle Floyd Show (1974–1998).
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Vivino grew up in Glen Rock, New Jersey and attended Glen Rock High School.[1]
The Uncle Floyd Show aired in the New Jersey and New York market from 1974 to 1998, for a time airing on the state wide PBS network, New Jersey Network. It can be read as a children's show, or a parody of a children's show. Much of the humor has a twist aimed at adults in the style of Soupy Sales and Pee Wee Herman. The show featured slapstick comedy, puppetry, some audience participation, and piano music. Floyd's puppet sidekick (actually a ventriloquial figure) was named Oogie. His on-air interaction with off camera staff and sidekicks is somewhat in the vein of what Howard Stern and Chelsea Handler would later do. Local New York bands including Ramones, Bon Jovi, Peter Tork and Madonna also appeared on Floyd's program.
The show first aired on United Artists Columbia Cable of New Jersey on January 29, 1974 then starting in November 1974 on UHF-TV station WBTB-TV, Newark (broadcasting on channels 68 and 60), later becoming WTVG, then WWHT, as ownership changed hands. The first cast members were Pat Cupo and Bob D. Caterino. Later members were Scott Gordon , Craig "Mugsy" Calam, "Netto", Jim Monaco, "Looney" Skip Rooney, Charlie Stoddard and Artie Delmar. There was one album from the show, the titular The Uncle Floyd Show Album, released on Mercury Records, that is much sought-after by collectors, along with several singles self-released by Floyd on his Bioya label (he wanted to call his label "Vivitone", but that name was already being used) around 1980-1983. (Rumors abound that "Bioya" was an acronym for "Blow It Out Your Ass".) Floyd Vivino has also put out numerous CDs of his live performances.
In 1980, The Uncle Floyd Show, as seen on local channel 68 in North Jersey, went into a small syndication circuit which included 17 markets, among them WNBC-TV channel 4 in New York, then WTAF-TV channel 29 in Philadelphia, WFLD-TV Channel 32 in Chicago and WSBK-TV Channel 38 in Boston. It aired right after SCTV on WNBC. The national syndication deal was seen as a huge step forward for the show, which up until that point could only be viewed (sometimes quite fuzzily) using "rabbit ears" in and around New Jersey on a single UHF channel. The cast and fans alike were very excited about the possibility of "Uncle Floyd" becoming a national phenomenon.
Vivino has appeared on several television shows filmed in New York City including Law & Order, 100 Centre Street, and Cosby and was a regular on the Sirius Satellite Radio program The Wiseguys Show on Raw Dog Comedy (channel 104) hosted by former Sopranos cast member Vincent Pastore. He has also had bit parts in the movies Good Morning, Vietnam, Crazy People and Mr. Wonderful.[2] He also appeared briefly in One-Trick Pony in a deleted scene.
Since 1987, Vivino has been broadcasting on WVIP-FM 93.5 radio from New Rochelle, New York, where he plays a wide range of Italian music. He claims to have the largest collection of Italian records in the world.
In the 90's Floyd had a show called "The Silk Dolls and Uncle Floyd" Featured appearance by actress "Cice Rivera" and several other Silk Dolls for approximately 20 episodes.
In 1999, he was placed in the Guinness Book of World Records for non-stop piano playing, having played for 24 hours and 15 minutes.[3]
David Bowie, a big fan of the show, recorded the song "Slip Away" on his 2002 album, Heathen, as a tribute. The lyrics mention Uncle Floyd and his puppets "Oogie" and "Bones Boy". When asked how Bowie learned of The Uncle Floyd Show he replied, "John Lennon told me about it."[4]
The song "Work for Food" by Dramarama, on the album Hi-Fi Sci-Fi from 1994, features the Uncle Floyd Show in the lyrics. Footage of Uncle Floyd as Cowboy Charlie also appears in the video for the song. The members of Dramarama were from Wayne, New Jersey and made their first television appearance on The Uncle Floyd Show.
The Ramones also recognized The Uncle Floyd Show in their song "It's Not My Place (In the Nine to Five World)",[5] as well as in various live appearances. Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone could often be seen wearing an Uncle Floyd Show t-shirt in pictures of the band.