Kevin Meaney

Kevin Gerard Meaney (April 23, 1956 – October 21, 2016) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and musician who appeared on Broadway between 1998 and 2002. Born in White Plains, New York, the third of five children, he grew up in Valhalla, New York, where he graduated from Valhalla High School in Westchester County. He subsequently attended the State University of New York at Morrisville.

Meaney launched his stand-up career in 1980, relocating first to San Francisco and then to Boston, where he continued building his act. During his time in Boston, he co-hosted the Sweeney and Meaney Hour at Stitches Comedy Club and made appearances on the A&E series An Evening at the Improv in 1982. Exposure on Star Search brought his comedy to a national syndicated audience, and his first HBO comedy special in 1986 marked a significant turning point in his career. That same year, on December 20, 1986, he appeared as a special guest on Saturday Night Live. His debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson followed in 1987. Over the subsequent years, his performances were broadcast on HBO, Comedy Central, and various network programs, including Late Night with David Letterman, Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Conan.

His stand-up material centered largely on family observations and complaints about hotel service. His most recognized catchphrase, "That's not right!," was delivered through an impression of his mother. He frequently closed performances with a comedic rendition of the 1985 song "We Are the World," incorporating impressions of the original performers. He also developed a recurring bit in which intentionally weak jokes were followed by a song modeled on "I Don't Care" by Jean Lenox and Harry O. Sutton, performed as though indifferent to the audience's reaction.

Beyond stand-up, Meaney worked extensively in television and voice acting, with credits including Uncle Buck, in which he starred as the title character in the short-lived sitcom adaptation, as well as Ned & Stacey, Dr. Katz, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Garfield and Friends, Rocko's Modern Life, and Duckman. His film appearances included Big (1988), Plump Fiction (1998), The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1999), and several later features. He also worked as a songwriter and music producer, collaborating with co-writer Martin Olson on material for HBO and Comedy Central, and the two wrote several television series together. In 1996, Meaney wrote and performed a one-man play titled Vegas Vows, based loosely on his brief marriage to a woman he had met in Las Vegas, a union that was subsequently annulled. He later married television executive Mary Ann Halford, with whom he had one daughter.

Meaney's Broadway career included a credit on Jerry Seinfeld: Live On Broadway and roles in the musical Hairspray, both during his Broadway tenure from 1998 to 2002. On XM Satellite Radio's Stand Up Sit Down on May 5, 2008, Meaney publicly stated that he was gay, noting that his time on Broadway had given him the courage to accept his homosexuality. He and Halford subsequently divorced.

In 2002, Meaney was arrested at San Francisco International Airport following an altercation with police that arose after he became belligerent during a security screening and was asked twice to stop filming terminal security operations. His 2004 comedy album was released under the title That's Not Right. Later television appearances included 30 Rock in 2010 and 2 Broke Girls in 2015. Meaney died on October 21, 2016, at the age of 60, after being found unresponsive at his home in Forestburgh, New York. His death was attributed to a heart attack.