A legend of the stand-up circuit, Mulrooney hosted the Fox series “Comic Strip Live” and stepped in for Joan Rivers after her exit from “The Late Show.”

John Mulrooney on ‘Small Doses’ in 1994.Credit: Viacom/Courtesy Everett Collection

John Mulrooney, the stand-up star, actor, and onetime late-night host, has died. He was 67.

The Albany Times-Union first reported his death at his Coxsackie, N.Y., home on Dec. 29 in a story published Wednesday. No cause of death was immediately available.

His official obituary from Casey Funeral Home in Staten Island, N.Y., called Mulrooney, who hosted the weekly Fox series Comic Strip Live and at one point The Late Show, “a beloved stand-up comedian, dedicated public servant, and proud patriot whose life was defined by service, laughter, and an unwavering devotion to the people he loved.”

John Mulrooney.John Mulrooney/Facebook

Mulrooney was born on Aug. 27, 1958, in Brooklyn. After attending Brooklyn Technical High School, he began testing his mettle at the legendary Pips comedy club in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood.

The comedian’s big break came when he competed on the talent competition show Star Search. Though he did not win, he gained something arguably better: a job in its writers’ room. Mulrooney parlayed that gig into stand-up sets at New York comedy clubs, eventually headlining for stars like Andrew Dice Clay.

“I remember the first time I saw John Mulrooney… Pips Comedy Club in Brooklyn,” Clay wrote in a tribute he shared to his Instagram on Wednesday. “He was the last comedian to come out of that club that everybody thought would become a really, really big star!”

Dice added that Mulrooney “never gave up, he never stopped trying, which is what it’s all about in my book.”

Mulrooney became revered for his deft improvisation and interaction with crowds, which landed him featured spots on other comedy series like PBS’ Comedy Tonight and A&E’s An Evening at the Improv.

After Joan Rivers departed as the host of The Late Show in 1987, Mulrooney was tapped as a temporary replacement alongside Suzanne Sommers, Frank Zappa, and fellow Pip’s alum Arsenio Hall, who eventually took over the gig full time.

Mulrooney also guest-hosted The Pat Sajak Show on CBS, appeared on shows like Ellen, The Good Life, Hardball, and The New Hollywood Squares, and starred in the 1989 film Great Balls of Fire.

Mulrooney was also passionate about public service, performing several times for U.S. service members on tours for United Service Organizations in the 2000s. He became a recreational pilot after he departed Hollywood for upstate New York, and transitioned to a new career in 2010 when he joined the ranks of the Coxsackie Police Department, where he served from 2010 to 2024.

“John Mulrooney will be remembered as much for being a loyal friend to countless people as for the laughter he brought to a multitude of strangers,” his obituary reads. “His voice, his stories, and his spirit will continue to echo in the lives of those he touched.”