Comedian Kevin Meaney Dead at 60

Kevin Meaney, who headlined the first sitcom based on the “Uncle Buck” theatrical on CBS from 1990-91, was found dead on Friday at his home in Forestburgh, in upstate New York. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Born April 23, 1956, Meaney began his career as a comedian in 1980 and had his first big break headlining an HBO comedy special in 1986. That led to his first appearance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1987. Meaney also appeared as a guest on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and on talk shows hosted by David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey and Conan O’Brien, and had a co-starring role in Tom Hanks 1987 theatrical “Big.” Guest starring roles on the small screen included sitcoms “The Jackie Thomas Show,” “Ned and Stacy,” “Brotherly Love” and, most recently, “2 Broke Girls.”

Meaney was also known for his raucous “I Don’t Care” song in standup routines that had him dancing and waving around one arm: “I don’t care. I don’t care. My jokes don’t go over, I don’t care!” And he was a singer and musician, writing and producing songs for HBO and Comedy Central with his co-writer Martin Olson, with whom he wrote several television series. In 1996, he wrote and performed a one-man play titled Vegas “Vows” based loosely on his brief marriage to a woman he had just met.