Comedian Kevin Meaney has died. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he was found unresponsive in his home on Friday.
Working the stand-up circuit for 36 years, Meaney began his career in Boston and San Francisco in the 1980s. Taking the stage in loud blazers and bow ties, he made a signature bit from a chirpy, chiding impression of his mother, which punctuated personal anecdotes about tight pants and his childhood resemblance to Wayne Newton. Interruption was a big component of Meaney’s routine—as seen in this Tonight Show clip, where the personal material is abruptly and unexpectedly derailed by a vocalist-by-vocalist lip-sync of “We Are The World.” Music was another major part of Meaney’s performances: Before he went on to appear in the stage version of Hairspray, he’d cap his sets with an a cappella showstopper expressing his indifference to bombing onstage.
Beyond stand-up, Meaney starred in the original TV adaptation of Uncle Buck, made an appearance in the 1988 Tom Hanks comedy Big, and represented Boston in 30 Rock’s “Winter Madness” and a 2016 episode of Seeso’s Hidden America With Jonah Ray. A vocally dextrous performer, Meaney could be heard in animated programs including Duckman and Garfield And Friends; he was a patient of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist and, naturally, an overbearing mother on Rocko’s Modern Life. As of a March 2016 interview, his own mother’s words were still finding their way into Meaney’s mouth.