Meaney began his career in comedy in 1980, moving first to San Francisco and then later to Boston where he continued to develop his act. He appeared on the
A&E television series
An Evening at the Improv, in 1982. Meaney had a show called the
Sweeney and Meaney Hour at Stitches Comedy Club in Boston. A couple of appearances on
Star Search gave Meaney the opportunity to test his act on national syndicated television. His big break into mainstream culture may be considered to be his first HBO comedy special in 1986, followed by an appearance on the December 20, 1986, episode of
Saturday Night Live as a special guest. Meaney made his debut performance on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1987. After that, his act was broadcast several times by
HBO,
Comedy Central and several network television appearances on
The Tonight Show,
Late Night with David Letterman,
Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee,
The Oprah Winfrey Show and
Conan. His most famous catchphrase was "That's not right!," delivered while doing an impression of his mother, which was followed by, and usually preceded by, her complaints and remonstrations. Typically, his act consisted of commentary about his family and complaints about hotel service. Meaney at times closed his show with a rendition of the 1985 song "
We Are the World" which included comical impressions of the various singers who originally sang the song. He often ended his performance with a few jokes that intentionally would not get a good response to follow them up with a song reminiscent of "I Don't Care" by Jean Lenox and Harry O. Sutton sung about how he does not care whether the audience laughs at his jokes. Meaney was involved in a number of television programs, including
Ned & Stacey,
Dr. Katz,
Space Ghost Coast to Coast,
Garfield and Friends, ''
Rocko's Modern Life, London Underground, and Duckman. He starred as the title character on the short-lived sitcom version of Uncle Buck''. He was also 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. He intermittently appeared on
The Jay Thomas Show as a co-host. 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. In the 2000s, Meaney performed in various roles in the Broadway musical
Hairspray. == Personal life ==