Remembering John Mulrooney: Celebrated Stand-Up Comedian, TV Host, Radio Personality, and Former NY Cop Dies at 67
John Mulrooney, a multifaceted stand-up comedian, actor, TV host, radio personality, and veteran police officer, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Coxsackie, New York, according to multiple reports. He was 67.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Mulrooney achieved recognition for his stand-up comedy, performing at iconic venues such as The Improv, The Comedy Store, The Comic Strip, and The Laugh Factory.
Fellow comedian Andrew Dice Clay shared fond memories of Mulrooney on Instagram, highlighting his unique ability to connect with audiences. “Crowd Work was his thing long before it became a thing,” Clay remarked, illustrating Mulrooney’s skill in engaging audiences during his performances.
Clay recalled their early days at Pips Comedy Club in Brooklyn, where Mulrooney’s talent shone brightly. “The owners Marty and Seth told me to watch him. He was really amazing at it,” he wrote.
Mulrooney often likened his approach to crowd work to cooking. “I look at the audience as a spice rack,” he explained in 2010. “I know I’m gonna make a great meal; I’m just not sure of the ingredients yet.”
Adam Sandler once described Mulrooney as a formidable presence in stand-up comedy, noting that he was one of those performers “you didn’t want to go after.” Remembering him, Sandler stated, “Mulrooney would just destroy a room. He was so loose and could dominate the room.”
Clay emphasized that although Mulrooney did not reach the same level of fame as himself or Sandler, his talent was undeniable. “He was the last comedian to come out of that club that everybody thought would become a really really big star!” Clay said. Mulrooney’s dedication and discipline, coupled with his good looks and athletic background as an ex-boxer, set him apart. “The thing I’m getting at is that he never gave up, he never stopped trying,” Clay added. “John was a great, great comedian.”
In the early 1980s, Mulrooney gained television exposure as a stand-up performer on Comedy Tonight, contributing as a writer and producer for 165 episodes. He also appeared on Star Search, where he was hired as a writer despite not winning the competition.
In 1987, following Joan Rivers’ departure from Fox’s The Late Show, Mulrooney took over the hosting duties, though the show was canceled a few months later. He also guest-hosted on The Pat Sajak Show.
Mulrooney later became the host of Comic Strip: Live, a televised version of a comedy club show filmed in front of a live audience. It aired locally on KTTV in Los Angeles before being picked up nationally by Fox, where it ran for a year.
Throughout his career, Mulrooney made appearances on platforms such as HBO, Showtime, A&E, and Comedy Central, as well as on the big screen in Great Balls of Fire, playing a talk show host opposite Dennis Quaid.
In addition to his comedy career, he maintained a long-standing presence in radio. In the late 1990s, Mulrooney co-hosted an Albany-based morning show with Bob “The Wolf” Wohlfeld on WPYX. He later joined WPDH in Poughkeepsie in 2010 before moving to iHeartRadio with his show “Mulrooney in the Morning.”
At the age of 52, Mulrooney joined the Coxsackie Police Department, serving until 2024. This unique career path led to the development of a pilot for a reality show titled Comedy Cop, which followed his experiences as a small-town police officer.
Visitation will be held at Casey Funeral Home in Staten Island on January 4 from 2 PM to 6 PM. His funeral is scheduled for January 5 at 10:30 AM at the Church of the Holy Family in New York. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mulrooney’s memory to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
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