Fans of underground comedy and rock music from the New York City and northern New Jersey area might be familiar with The Uncle Floyd Show. The low-budget variety program was hosted by Floyd Vivino, a talented comedian and piano player from New Jersey who loved vaudeville and bawdy jokes.
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The Uncle Floyd Show ran from 1974 to 1996. Its initial run was on the local New Jersey UHF channel 68. During the mid-1980s, the program aired as a syndicated late-night show on NBC. It eventually wound up on local New Jersey cable stations.
Vivino, who died on January 22 at age 74, drew inspiration for his show from old low-budget children’s programs, including The Soupy Sales Show.
Floyd was accompanied by a cast of wacky comedians who joined him in various mostly improvised sketches. The show also featured hundreds of musical guests during its long run. Many bands and singers who appeared on the program were local unknowns, but quite often, renowned artists would perform on the show.
Occasionally, the guest musicians would perform live, but they usually lip-synced and mimed to recordings of their songs.
One famous fan of The Uncle Floyd Show was David Bowie, who once told Vivino that he’d discovered the program thanks to John Lennon. Although Bowie never appeared on the show, he wrote a song called “Slip Away” paying tribute to Uncle Floyd, released in 2002.
Most Uncle Floyd Show episodes weren’t recorded, so limited footage exists of the various musical performances. Some clips, though, have made their way online. In honor of the late, great Floyd Vivino, here are clips of four Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ appearances on the show:
The Ramones
The Ramones reportedly appeared on The Uncle Floyd Show more than any other musical guest. One online report claims the band was featured on more than two dozen episodes.
One clip posted online features the band miming to its classic “I Wanna Be Sedated” on a 1982 episode of the show.
In a 1980 interview with the WNYU radio station, Joey Ramone chose The Uncle Floyd Show as his favorite TV program.
“We’re all friends, you know,” Joey said. “It’s a great show … and I guess because it’s not syndicated yet, it’s hard maybe for some people to [watch,] but it’s great. It’s probably the best show in America. [E]verybody should watch it. … It’s a kiddie show, but not really.”
The Ramones were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2002.
Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper was a guest on The Uncle Floyd Show in early 1984. As seen in a clip posted on TikTok, Lauper sang the song “He’s So Unusual” live with Floyd accompanying her on piano.
“He’s So Unusual” was a song originally recorded and released in 1929 by Helen Kane, the inspiration for the cartoon character Betty Boop. Lauper recorded a version of the tune that was featured on her 1983 debut solo album, She’s So Unusual.
Cyndi seems to be doing a spot-on Betty Boop impersonation in her performance with Floyd.
Lauper was welcomed into the Rock Hall in 2025.
Paul Simon
Paul Simon made an appearance on The Uncle Floyd Show during its run on NBC in 1982. The folk-rock legend gave a live solo performance of his 1977 hit “Slip Slidin’ Away,” accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.
Simon reportedly was a big Uncle Floyd fan, and had written a scene featuring Vivino for his 1980 movie One-Trick Pony. The scene was cut from the final film, though.
Simon was inducted into the Rock Hall twice. The first time was with Simon & Garfunkel in 1990, and the second was as a solo artist in 2001.
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi made his first TV appearance ever on The Uncle Floyd Show. After Vivino’s death, the singer posted a clip from his performance with his band on his social media pages.
The video features a snippet of Jon lip-syncing his early-1980s tune “What You Want.”
Accompanying the clip, Bon Jovi posted a note that reads, “Uncle Floyd gave me a shot on his show first … Before anyone. Thank you Floyd … Rest easy my friend.”
Jon was inducted into the Rock Hall with Bon Jovi in 2018.
Other Famous Music Artists Who Appeared on ‘The Uncle Floyd Show’
Here is a partial list of some of the many other well-known music artists who were guests on The Uncle Floyd Show: Bananarama, The Blasters, Blue Oyster Cult, Boomtown Rats, Chubby Checker, Dave Edmunds, David Johansen, Davy Jones, Eddie Money, Jan & Dean, Joan Jett, Misfits, NRBQ, Peter Tork, Phoebe Snow, The Roches, Rupert Holmes, The Smithereens, The Smothers Brothers, Squeeze, Stiv Bators, Tiny Tim, and The Troggs.
(Photo by Peter Noble/Redferns; Photo by MPIRock/MediaPunch via Getty Images)
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