Floyd Vivino, the porkpie hat-wearing, piano-playing comedian known as Uncle Floyd, whose very low-budget television variety show on local UHF and cable channels made him a cult favorite of fans, especially in New Jersey, his home state, which he celebrated in song, died on Thursday in Hackensack, N.J. He was 74.
His death, in a rehabilitation facility, was caused by complications of a stroke in 2023, said his brother Jimmy, a guitarist and organist who was the leader of the Basic Cable Band on Conan O’Brien’s cable talk show on TBS.
From 1974 to 1998, Mr. Vivino oversaw a ludicrous, freewheeling weekday program — an unrehearsed blend of music, featuring his stride piano playing; skits; puppets like Oogie, a wooden clown, and the testy skeleton character Bones Boy; parodies of local personalities; and an oddball troupe of actors with names like Weenie, Mugsy and Netto.
