Brooklyn-born comedian John Mulrooney is dead at age 67.
The funnyman died suddenly at his home in Coxsackie, N.Y. on Dec. 29, according to the Albany Times Union. His cause of death wasn’t immediately reported.
Mulrooney began his comedy career in the 1980s at the now-defunct Pips Club in Sheepshead Bay, per an online obituary. The venue is also known for fueling the careers of Woody Allen, Rodney Dangerfield, Robert Klein, Lenny Bruce, Adam Sandler and Andrew “Dice” Clay.
After performing at other legendary spots like The Comedy Store, The Comic Strip and The Laugh Factory, Mulrooney later made his mark on TV by hosting an episode of “The Late Show” after the exit of Joan Rivers and appearing on “The Pat Sajak Show.”
He got another shot at stardom as the host of “Comic Strip Live,” a televised version of standup acts filmed in front of a live audience. It first aired locally in Los Angeles then nationally on Saturday nights before it ended in 1989.
Many New Yorkers who never saw Mulrooney’s act knew his voice from the radio shows he hosted on WPYX in Albany and WPDH in Poughkeepsie. In 2014, he launched “Mulrooney in the Morning” for iHeartRadio.
He also added law enforcement to his resume by joining the Coxsackie Police Department as a 52-year-old rookie in 2010, and serving through 2024. During that time, he became a “sought-after performer for police and fire department fundraisers across the country, using comedy to support first responders and the communities they protect,” his obituary said.
Mulrooney told the Times Union in 2010 that he enjoyed working a crowd.
“I look at the audience as a spice rack,” he said. “I know I’m gonna make a great meal; I’m just not sure of the ingredients yet.”
Clay honored his former Pips colleague on Instagram, remembering him as a comedian who made his audience part of every show.
“Crowd work was his thing long before it became a thing,” the raunchy comic recalled. “He was the last comedian to come out of that club that everybody thought would become a really, really big star.”
Clay added that while Mulrooney never did achieve the same level of fame as some of their other friends, he was “really amazing” at what he did.
“He never gave up, he never stopped trying, which is what it’s all about in my book,” Clay said. “Not everybody climbs to the top, and not everybody becomes a superstar. John was a great, great comedian.”
Mulrooney is remembered by his family as a loving son, a devoted sibling and a cherished uncle to numerous nieces and nephews.
A 2 p.m. visitation will be held on Sunday at the Casey Funeral Home on Staten Island, followed by a Monday morning funeral service at the nearby Church of the Holy Family.