New Jersey TV personality Floyd Vivino, who hosted The Uncle Floyd Show (1974–98), died on Jan. 22. He was 74. Vivino was the brother of musicians Jerry and Jimmy Vivino (who played with Conan O’Brien’s house band) and actress Donna Vivino. Uncle Floyd was one of those “kids like it, but there’s grown-up stuff in there, too” shows, on various broadcast and cable TV networks, proving very popular (when I was growing up in Phila., the kid’s shows Sally Starr, Gene London and Chief Halftown—who my father called “Chief Halfass,” were all the rage). Vivino told NJArts, “My grandfather, my mother’s father, performed in the Italian theater in the 1920s and 1930s. He appeared in Italian language plays. My mother wanted me to be a dramatic actor. As a kid, I wanted to be a circus clown. My brothers Jimmy and Jerry were more disciplined musicians. I never learned to read music, as they do. But let me hear a song once and I could play it on the piano.” Everyone I know talks about how wonderful Uncle Floyd was, but I have a personal grudge—I applied for a job with him back in the early ‘80s and he was extremely rude and dismissive. This only goes to show that you should always be nice to people, as you never know who will write your obituary.
