The Uncle Floyd Show

Uncle Floyd Show had some of the great punk musicians for the late 70's early 80's including The Dead Boys , Blondie, and the Ramones (more than a few times) His pal Uggie would haunt my dreams for years, bring me back to a time I did not want to stay in. I loved Floyd and hid gang and hoped he would find stardom when he appeared in Good Morning Vietnam. But alas, so did he. I wonder what Floyd is doing today. I occasional see reruns in my twisted mind. but wish it would come out on DVD...Hear that Floyd..do a DVD. It will make you some cash. So bring Uggie and a few of the gang out of retirement from Bloomfield NJ and do a compilation DVD. Look, if Joe Franklin can do one, so can you.

Someone told me about this TV show that very underground that was being shown on a UHF station. My friend told me that there were cool bands to see and that it was really a show for adults because of the many dirty and off the cuff jokes that were made. Needless to say, I saw the show and was hooked on it. Part of the show always seem to have Uncle Floyd singing and playing the piano to some song. I used to love it when Uncle Floyd would sing "Pennies from Heaven" and the cast would throw real pennies at him and he would duck while singing. Some of the skits were really off the wall. I remember the skit "The Dull Family", where the cast would dress up as red necks and debate if they should turn on the TV. Just my two cents here, I think that the fascination that so many people had with this show was the bad production. The show in the beginning of it's run had only one camera and it was not uncommon to have something fall down or apart while the cast was doing a skit. As teenagers we would just start laughing at things like that. The fact that it was a NJ show was important as well. Keep in mind that NJ has always had an identity crisis. In northern NJ, we watch New York stations because New York City is not far away and it's news media has always been criticized for not reporting enough on NJ. So to watch a home grown TV show like Uncle Floyd seem to be a special treat. It was like your own underground TV program that you could watch that promoted and made fun of New Jersey. I miss you Uncle Floyd.

This show started on a UHF channel back in the 70's and was so bad it was good. If you like Mystery Science Theater without the movies, or Saturday night live without the fractional effort at professionalism,and the haphazard style of The Soup on E!, you will love Uncle Floyed. It was a parody of children's shows, like Sesmae street and Magic Garden which were still relatively new at the time. Floyd Vivino hosted using colorful characters and puppets. The audience was always supposed to be adults. It took on cult attraction as people waited for Looney Skiproony and BabaBooy. It is a slice of life from a time now gone. It still takes me back to some happy memories. I truly wonder if anyone born in the last 20 years can appreciate it.

The Uncle Floyd Show was transmitted on a UHF channel from New Jersey. Uncle Floyd and his merry pranksters gave the appearance of being a bunch of friends having a good time. Floyd's talents were in his imitations, his accents, his humor, his ability to laugh along with his silly cast and to make fun of them. This tape compiles some of the funniest bits. This was a very very low budget show that worked as the humor came through. After getting this tape and being in a state of non stop laughing I showed it to my daughter who watched it in the 80's and she remembered it and laughed along. My son who was born in 1985 seeing it for the first time laughed uproriously. Floyd could play that piano. I won a trip to Wild West City and there was Floyd on the piano. My daughter's birthday was announced on the show. The extension of Floyd's hand was Oogie the smartest, most sarcastic puppet who was a riot. Looney Skip Rooney laughing off camera was contagious. The other cast members looked like regular guys and the comraderie was great. This tape translates that. Buy it if you ever saw Uncle Floyd and buy it if you haven't. Anyone who liked Soupy Sales or Mad Magazine will be at home.

I began watching Uncle Floyd back when I was 9 yeas old or so.

It was completely irreverent wonderful and fun. Uncle Floyd reach out to his fan base like no other performer of the day. Any fan could create a local fan-club. I was president of fan club 186 which was part of my street address and had no reality on how many clubs there were.

Every week he featured a viewer and I will never forget when I was chosen as viewer of the week and received an award.

When I was 10 years old I got very sick and had brain surgery. Uncle Floyd got a letter from my father asking if he could send me a t shirt. Floyd Vivino did one better. He called me up and told me that Skip Rooney visits the same hospital sometimes but in the closed ward of the loony bin.

Uncle Floyd came to visit me in the hospital and gave me the first copy of his first 45 "Deep in the Heart of Jersey" by Cowboy Charlie and La De Da Da by Oogie on the flip side.

Gosh I love what that man did for me and the show never stopped being fun.