PHILOSOPHICAL EGGS

In 1978, when I was 8 years old, a friend did something amazing: he switched from the VHF dial on his TV to the UHF dial and, very slowly, made his way to channel 68. Through the crappy reception I stepped into a hidden magical world of forbidden madness that expressed freedom.

This world was The Uncle Floyd Show with its eccentric cast, laugh squad, unscripted comedy bits, and amazing guest bands (The Ramones were a consistent presence over the years) that appealed to everyone from little children to visionary supporters like John Lennon, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop.

The multi-talented New Jersey champion and hero Floyd Vivino held it all together with his many bizarre characters, wonderful acting (take note he appeared in the films Good Morning Vietnam, Crazy People, and Mr. Wonderful), parodies, puppets, and astonishing piano playing which had a large part in me becoming a piano player (in 1999 he earned a Guinness World Record for playing songs nonstop for more than 24 hours for charity).

Now he is gone and I will always miss him.

Luckily, over the years I was able to get my hands on many rare and discontinued DVD’s of the show (from cast member Mugsy before he died) and I made my own tapes of the show was I was younger. For those of you interested, there is still a “best of” DVD (Schanchie Productions) available via Amazon and YouTube has a Floyd channel as well. And there are plenty of articles, blogs, Facebook pages, essays, and so on which will offer you information about the show over the years, the cast and the changes to it, and its many interesting guests (see the end of this post for an excellent essay focusing on the music of the show as well as other links to all kinds of UF stuff). Be sure to check out David Bowie’s song Slip Away from his album Heathen which juxtaposes the show as an expression of a simpler time with darker themes like war.

As I type these words I know, from all the tributes online, that many feel as I do. So Floyd will live on in those of us who loved his work. But he should also live on in us by giving us a resolve to appreciate and cultivate something which, as I’ve grown, I’ve come to appreciate more and more: real local and eccentric community full of improvisation and irreverence. The Show was the opposite of all the conformist and scripted garbage in the media these days and, for me, that will always be inspiring in a world that so often seeks to crush things that are truly unique. As a kid its freedom seemed to flow through me and made me feel like I was part of a counterculture where norms could be challenged by ideas, music, laughter, and downright absurdity. As an adult philosopher I hope to honor that primal spark in my thinking, teaching, writing, and acting.

Now, I know Bones Boy will be fine – cranky and cynical bastard that he is. He will, as he always does, simply say “Snap it Pal!” and harshly criticize both Floyd and this post:

But I hope Oogie, a far more sensitive and self-pitying soul to be sure, isn’t crying too much since, as this wonderful bit suggests, he may get sap all over the place:

I’ll leave you with three of Floyd’s acts that had an impact on me in my primal philosophical development: Mr. Grouch, Comrade Comic, and Brother Billy Bopper Booper. These characters always got me thinking as well as laughing. These particular versions of these characters, which taken together allow you to see most of the older cast (and pictures on the wall from viewers!), are some of the best things I have ever seen. If you enjoy them, be sure to spread the word.

Long Live The Uncle Floyd Show!

Go here for an excellent essay on the music scene of The Uncle Floyd Show.

Go here for Bob Leafe’s fantastic photos/commentary of Floyd, the cast, and many famous people they hung out with and had on the show including Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Davy Jones, Howard Stern, Andy Kaufman, Phoebe Snow, Steve Morse, Eddie Money, Linda Blair, Boomtown Rats, Blue Oyster Cult, Chubby Checker, The Smothers Brothers, Tiny Tim, Bananarama, Squeeze, Soupy Sales, and others.

Go here for the UF podcast.

Go here for the UF portal with some helpful links.

Go here for UF ebay.

Go here for the UF YouTube channel.

Go here to listen to Bowie’s Slip Away. Here are the lyrics:

Oogie waits for just another day
Drags his bones
To see the Yankees play
Bones Boy talks and flickers gray
Oh, they slip away

Once a time
They nearly might have been
Bones and Oogie on a silver screen
No one knew what they could do
Except for me and you
They slip away
They slip away

Don’t forget
To keep your head warm
Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd
Watching all the world
And war torn
How I wonder where you are
Oh-o
Sailing over
Coney Island
Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd
We were dumb
But you were fun, boy
How I wonder where you are
Oh-o

Oogie knew there’s never ever time
Some of us will always stay behind
Down in space it’s always 1982
The joke we always knew
Oh-oh
What’sa matter with you
C’mon, let’s go
Slip away
Oh-o

Don’t forget
To keep your head warm
Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd
Watching all the world
And war torn
How I wonder where you are
Oh-o
Sailing over
Coney Island
Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd
We were dumb
But you were fun, boy
How I wonder where you are
Oh-o
Sailing